Protests over Iran’s economic meltdown began on December 28, 2025, in Tehran and have since spread to multiple provinces while shifting from economic grievances to direct challenges against the clerical establishment, Al Jazeera reported on January 12. The rial’s record low of more than 1.4 million to the dollar has fueled 40 percent annual inflation with food costs 72 percent higher, exacerbating strains from a June 2025 war with Israel and renewed UN sanctions, the outlet said. Authorities have imposed an internet blackout now in its fourth day, with state media reporting over 100 security force deaths and opposition groups claiming a significantly higher protester toll that could not be independently confirmed.
The currency collapse that prompted shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar to close their stores and demonstrate traces to multiple pressures on Iran’s economy, according to Al Jazeera. A 12-day war with Israel in June 2025 caused infrastructural damage across several cities while United Nations sanctions were re-imposed in September 2025 over the nuclear programme after a Security Council vote. The International Monetary Fund estimated that consumer prices rose 42.4 percent in 2025 and would stay above 40 percent through 2026. In December authorities added a new tier to the fuel subsidy system that raised petrol prices with reviews scheduled every three months, the news outlet reported. World Bank projections from October 2025 forecast a 1.7 percent economic contraction that year followed by a 2.8 percent decline in 2026 amid the combined effects of conflict and sanctions.
Initial focus on rising prices and household costs gave way to chants opposing the clerical rulers with some demonstrators voicing support for Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the deposed shah who has called for a referendum on future government structures, Al Jazeera stated. Maryam Alemzadeh, an associate professor in the history and politics of Iran at the University of Oxford, told the outlet that such chants formed part of this round of protests. The demands build on calls for greater democracy and opposition to strict laws that intensified after Mahsa Amini died in police custody in 2022 following her arrest for alleged dress code violations. Historical accounts trace tensions to the 1953 coup against elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ended the monarchy, as outlined by Al Jazeera. Pahlavi himself has said he supports letting Iranians decide their system of governance through a popular vote.
Demonstrations that started in the capital have extended to locations including Navvab and Saadat Abad neighbourhoods in Tehran as well as Hafshejan and Junqan in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province and Taybad county in Razavi Khorasan, according to Fars News Agency reporting cited by Al Jazeera. Security forces dispersed those gatherings while the rest of the country remained calm overnight on the Sunday in question. Protests in solidarity have also occurred in countries with large Iranian diaspora populations such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Turkey and Pakistan. A large and fragmented opposition base is forming both domestically and among expatriates, the news service added. Fars News Agency described the events inside Iran as limited though Al Jazeera noted they reflect broader discontent.
Iran’s internet outage, which NetBlocks monitoring group said entered its fourth day on January 12, has restricted information flow during the unrest, according to Al Jazeera. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed diplomats that connectivity would be restored soon while coordinating with security officials. State media placed the death toll at more than 100 security personnel killed in recent days while opposition activists asserted that hundreds of protesters had also died, figures Al Jazeera said could not be independently verified. Experts including Alemzadeh expressed fears that the true number may be substantially higher given the communications blackout and level of repression. The Statistical Center of Iran recorded a 7.9 percent monthly rise in average prices for goods and services during the key period, one of the highest rates in at least a decade.
Araghchi alleged that the demonstrations turned violent and bloody to provide an excuse for potential United States intervention, as carried by Al Jazeera. President Donald Trump had repeatedly warned of possible military action if crackdowns intensified, according to the minister’s remarks. Iranian authorities gathered video evidence of weapons being distributed to protesters and planned to release confessions from those detained, the foreign minister added. He described the events as stoked by foreign elements with security forces determined to hold those responsible to account. Alemzadeh told Al Jazeera that repression has reached unprecedented brutality yet underlying grievances over corruption, mismanagement and sanctions will persist unless addressed.
