Since late December, deep-rooted protests have erupted in Iran. The spark was the economic crisis, but demonstrators are now calling for an end to the regime, which has responded with violence.
The Iranian regime's crackdown on street protests is growing increasingly violent. The demonstrations began in the final days of 2025, driven by the dire economic conditions gripping the country, brought to its knees by a tightening of international sanctions following last June's brief conflict with Israel. The first to protest were merchants in Tehran's bazaar, but as the days passed the demonstrations spread to universities and the broader population, drawing in tens of cities. Iranian authorities blocked access to the internet and violently suppressed the protests, with a provisional toll of more than 500 dead and 10,000 people arrested. And following the raid in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, US president Donald Trump is now considering military intervention in Iran as well.
The protests in Iran began on 28 December. The trigger was yet another devaluation of the rial, the Iranian currency, against the backdrop of an economic crisis that has been dragging on for quite some time.
Last June, Iran was engaged in a brief conflict with Israel, itself backed by the United States. The "12-Day War" was defined by aerial operations targeting Iran's military and political apparatus and its key figures, while Iran responded with massive missile and drone strikes against Israel. This confrontation led to a tightening of international sanctions against Tehran, particularly those imposed by the United States and the UN. This put further strain on an already underperforming economy, with the direct consequence being the collapse of the local currency and a surge in inflation.
In the second half of 2025, the rial lost 56 per cent of its value, translating into a sharp increase in the cost of goods, especially food. Inflation in 2025 rose by 50 per cent compared to the previous year, and in the food sector the increase reached as much as 70 per cent. As a result, the population began spending far more to buy food, while merchants started earning less and less as wholesale prices also spiralled upwards. Faced with yet another devaluation of the rial, in late December merchants at Tehran's bazaar staged the first sporadic protests against the government.
At first, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian showed a degree of understanding towards the protests. He dismissed the position of those attributing the demonstrations to foreign orchestration, particularly by the United States, and emphasised that the government must be held solely responsible for the country's difficult economic situation. To that end, he announced a number of minor reforms, such as a restructuring of the contested public sector subsidy system to ease the exchange rate and a wage increase. But in the meantime, the protests spread to universities and the wider population, no longer confined to the economic sphere but transforming into a broad-based challenge to the regime unlike anything seen since 2022–2023, the season of protests that erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini.
Thousands of people have been taking to the streets for more than two weeks in the capital Tehran and in other cities across the country, calling for the overthrow of the regime. The walls of buildings have filled with slogans against Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior authorities, images of the ruling class have been burned in the streets, and government offices have been stormed. As the protests intensified, the country's top authorities abandoned the conciliatory approach of the early days. Demonstrators were labelled internal enemies directed by foreign countries, the internet was blocked to prevent the organisation of protests, and a harsh crackdown by police and security forces got underway.
The scarce information that has emerged from Iran during these days of internet blackout has allowed a partial reconstruction of the severity of the situation. The New York Times has confirmed the authenticity of some images showing bags filled with corpses outside the Forensic Medicine Centre in Kahrizak, a town on the outskirts of Tehran. Around them, several people — likely friends and family members — were filmed rummaging through the bodies in an attempt to identify their missing loved ones.
Other videos verified by BBC and the major international media outlets show security forces firing at protesters at body level from bridges or during clashes in the streets. Skylar Thompson, deputy director of the human rights organisation HRANA, said that hospitals are so overwhelmed with dead and wounded that they have been forced to turn away new arrivals. Other critically injured people have been denied hospital care and transferred to detention centres across the country. According to the limited information available, at least 10,000 people have already been arrested during the protests over these days. The NGO HRANA reports around 500 protesters killed and the deaths of approximately 50 members of security personnel. For the latter, Iran's authorities have decreed three days of national mourning, accusing the protesters of terrorism.
While the Iranian regime has accused the United States of having played a role in the intensification of the protests over recent weeks, the United States has stated it is ready to intervene militarily in the country should the violence continue.
"The military is thinking about it and we are evaluating some very strong options," replied Donald Trump to journalists who asked him whether, following the intervention in Venezuela with the capture of now-former president Nicolás Maduro, the United States might also intervene in Iran. A meeting between the US president and his advisers was scheduled for 12 January to put all options on the table and determine the way forward.
Iran, for its part, made clear through the voice of parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf that "in the event of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) and all US bases and vessels will be our legitimate target." The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, also spoke out on the situation in the country, calling on Iranian authorities to cease the use of force against protesters.
