TEHRAN – Paulo Coelho, author of the widely translated novel The Alchemist, has blasted Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran, for attempting to stage a coup in Iran, saying Iranians will support their country in such case.

In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Pahlavi called on the Trump administration to encourage U.S. technology companies to provide communication services to Iranians to protest the Islamic Republic.

“Shut up. SAVAK is dead, and the Iranian people will rally to support their country if you ever ask for another coup d'etat like the one orchestrated by CIA in 1953,” Coelho tweeted on Thursday.

Peaceful protests against recent price hikes and the overall economic conditions started on December 28 but turned violent in a few towns or cities.

The turmoil marked rioters leading fire engines in one city into the crowd of people, killing two bystanders, and attacking a police station elsewhere.

Over a dozen people were killed in the turmoil, including police. According to officials, some of the fatalities came even as security forces did not fire a single bullet. They said some rioters used shotguns and pistols to attack police and fire at the crowd of protesters.  

Pahlavi, who has lived in exile since his father was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, said he wants to see Iranians “determine their own fate out of their own free will.” 

He lauded U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet for speaking in support of the protests.

“We need more than lip service. We need to see concrete actions,” Pahlavi said. “This has to be immediate ... As we speak, the regime is attempting yet again to try to shut down whatever it is, whether it’s Instagram or Telegram.”

Meanwhile, Iranian people on Friday took to the streets in major cities across the country for a third consecutive day to reiterate support for the Islamic Republic and to condemn the rioters.  

Demonstrators rallied in the capital Tehran and the cities of Tabriz, Sari and Kerman to denounce violence by those who infiltrated peaceful protests to turn them into scenes of confrontation and attack on public property. 

MH/PA