Despicable: Iranian Regime’s Vile Move to Try to Stop Trump From Hitting Power Plants
The Iranian regime has sunk to a new low, even by its own depraved standards.
After President Trump threatened to strike power plants and bridges if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, state television and senior officials are now openly calling on civilians — including youth, artists, and athletes — to form human chains around those very facilities tomorrow at 2 p.m. local time. The event, dubbed “Iran’s Youth Human Chain for a Bright Future,” is framed as a protest against “U.S. war crimes,” but it is nothing more than a cynical attempt to use Iranian citizens as living shields.
Alireza Rahimi, Iran’s deputy minister of youth and sports, made the call explicit, urging people to gather at power plants across the country to “demonstrate national solidarity” and shield the infrastructure. This is the same regime that has spent 47 years kidnapping Americans, slaughtering its own protesters, and now recruiting children as young as 12 to fight its wars.
The cowardice is staggering. While senior commanders and their families cower in underground bunkers, they demand ordinary Iranians stand in front of potential targets and risk being incinerated. Using human shields — especially forcing or pressuring youth to do so — is a clear war crime under any standard. The mullahs know the United States values human life; they saw how far America went to recover a downed pilot. Their response is to treat their own people as disposable props.
The video is from the Iranian state TV:
This is the audio message interpreted into English:
Video:
🚨 JUST IN: The regime has flooded the White Bridge with a human chain OF CHILDREN in Ahvaz, Iran to send a message to President Trump
THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE
Those kids have NO IDEA what they are doing or why
Further proof the regime needs obliteration pic.twitter.com/7B96Oo5VVS
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 7, 2026
Trump’s threat was never about indiscriminate destruction. It was leverage to force the regime to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stop threatening global energy supplies. By contrast, the regime’s “solution” is to hide its leaders while parading civilians in front of the crosshairs. This is the fundamental difference between a leader who protects his people and a terrorist occupation that feeds on them.
Where is the outrage from the left and European allies who love to lecture about “civilian casualties”? Their silence is deafening. They had no problem condemning Israel or the U.S. for striking military targets, but when the mullahs literally beg their citizens to become human shields, the usual voices disappear.
This desperate stunt reveals how cornered the regime is. After weeks of devastating U.S. and Israeli strikes under Operation Epic Fury, they have no real defense left. Instead of negotiating seriously, they resort to propaganda theater and human sacrifice.
The Iranian people deserve better than this barbaric leadership. The world is watching, and the mullahs’ mask is slipping faster than ever.
**Opinion Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article, including strong condemnation of the Iranian regime’s use of human shields and criticism of the left’s silence, reflect a critical perspective and may not align with all readers. Facts are based on the regime’s public calls, official statements, and reported events; readers should form their own conclusions.**
Mark Van der Veen offers some of the most analytical and insightful writings on politics. He regularly opines on the motives and political calculations of politicians and candidates, and whether or not their strategy will work. Van der Veen offers a contrast to many on this list by sticking mainly to a fact-based style of writing that is generally combative with opposing ideologies.
