Things are getting very tense in the Middle East. The Islamic radicals that are ruling Iran believe that the United States and Israel intend to use the mass protests that have been going on for nearly two weeks to try to overthrow their regime. If Ayatollah Khamenei and his top advisers reach a point where they are convinced that the Iranian government could actually fall, there is no telling what they might decide to do. Meanwhile, President Trump has declared that the U.S. is ready to take military action if the Iranians continue to kill more protesters, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that there will be “very severe” consequences for Iran if Israel is attacked. If either Khamenei, Trump or Netanyahu pulls the trigger, the Middle East will erupt in flames.

The mass protests in Iran keep growing, and on Wednesday there were reports of “security forces retreating in the face of fearless, unarmed crowds” in some cities…

On Wednesday, January 7, 2026, the nationwide uprising in Iran entered its eleventh consecutive day, marking a significant escalation in the struggle against the ruling dictatorship. As the sun set on Wednesday, the regime’s suppression apparatus appeared overstretched, with reports emerging from multiple provinces of security forces retreating in the face of fearless, unarmed crowds.

You would think that the security forces should have the upper hand since they are armed.

But when security forces are vastly outnumbered by enormous throngs of protesters, the crowds could rush the security forces and pummel them to death.

So in several western Iranian cities, security forces have been forced to pull back…

While the strikes squeezed the regime economically, the streets witnessed a shifting balance of power. In several cities, the sheer density of the crowds forced heavily armed security forces to abandon their positions.

In Abadan, southwest Iran, security units fled their posts after failing to disperse demonstrators with tear gas. In Bojnurd, the crowds were reportedly so massive that security agents retreated to rooftops to avoid being overrun. A similar scene unfolded in Borujerd, western Iran, where youths armed only with stones clashed with Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) forces, compelling the agents to retreat into their bases.

Read More: Iran, Israel And The United States All Say That They Are Ready For War