What we know about the protests sweeping Iran

Protests successful Iran implicit the country’s economical conditions, which broke retired successful precocious December 2025, person snowballed into a broader situation to the clerical rulers who person governed Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Here is what we cognize astir the protests successful Iran truthful far.

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What are the protests successful Iran about?

Protests broke retired implicit soaring prices successful Iran connected December 28, 2025 aft the rial plunged to a grounds debased against the United States dollar successful precocious December.

The protestation started with shopkeepers successful Tehran’s Grand Bazaar who shuttered their shops and began demonstrating. It past dispersed to different provinces of Iran.

On Monday, the rial was trading astatine much than 1.4 cardinal to $1, a crisp diminution from astir 700,000 a twelvemonth earlier successful January 2025 and astir 900,000 successful mid-2025. The plummeting currency has triggered steep inflation, with nutrient prices an mean of 72 percent higher than past year. Annual ostentation is presently astir 40 percent.

Iran’s system is ailing for respective reasons. The state fought a 12-day warfare with Israel successful June 2025, which resulted successful infrastructural harm successful respective Iranian cities.

Additionally, successful September 2025, the United Nations re-imposed sanctions connected Iran implicit its atomic programme erstwhile the UN Security Council voted against permanently lifting economical sanctions connected Iran.

In December, Iran introduced a caller tier successful its nationalist substance subsidy system, efficaciously raising the terms of what had been immoderate of the world’s cheapest petrol oregon gasoline and adding to the fiscal strain connected households.

Officials volition present reassess substance prices each 3 months, opening the doorway to further hikes. At the aforesaid time, nutrient prices are acceptable to ascent aft the Central Bank precocious scrapped a preferential, subsidised dollar-rial complaint for each imports but medicine and wheat.

“If lone the government, alternatively of conscionable focusing connected fuel, could bring down the terms of different goods,” taxi operator Majid Ebrahimi told Al Jazeera successful precocious December. “The prices of dairy products person gone up six times this twelvemonth and different goods much than 10 times.”

While chants by protesters initially focused connected the ailing economy, they person switched to absorption to the clerical constitution successful Iran. Some protesters person besides begun chanting successful enactment of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled lad of deposed Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the heir to the erstwhile Pahlavi monarchy.

Many supporters of Pahlavi are calling for a instrumentality to the monarchy, though Pahlavi himself says helium favours holding a referendum to find what benignant of authorities operation Iranians want.

After Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iran’s premier curate who was democratically elected successful 1951, nationalised the British-controlled lipid manufacture successful Iran, helium was overthrown successful a 1953 coup backed by the US and the United Kingdom to unafraid Western lipid interests. A repressive royal regularisation was reinstated until 1979, erstwhile Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the past shah of Iran, fled the state arsenic the Islamic gyration took hold. He died successful Egypt successful 1980.

“There were chants successful his [Pahlavi’s] enactment connected the streets of Iran among different chants successful this circular of protests,” Maryam Alemzadeh, an subordinate prof successful the past and authorities of Iran astatine the University of Oxford, told Al Jazeera.

Demands for ideology and absorption to the Islamic government’s strict laws person been gathering for immoderate time, particularly since the decease of Mahsa Amini, 22, successful constabulary custody successful 2022.

In September 2022, Amini was arrested successful Tehran by Iran’s notorious morality constabulary for alleged non-compliance with Iran’s strict formal code. She was taken to a re-education centre wherever she collapsed. She died successful infirmary a fewer days later.

Where are the protests happening?

The archetypal protests were staged by shopkeepers successful Tehran angered by rising prices. However, protests person present go much widespread. A large, fragmented absorption basal is emerging some wrong Iran and wrong Iranian diaspora communities successful different countries.

Iran’s Fars News Agency said “limited” demonstrations were held connected Sunday nighttime successful Tehran’s Navvab and Saadat Abad neighbourhoods.

Protesters besides gathered successful the cities of Hafshejan and Junqan successful the southwestern state of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and a abstracted rally took spot successful Taybad region successful the northeastern state of Razavi Khorasan.

Fars reported that information forces moved successful and broke up those gatherings, portion the remainder of the country’s cities and provinces remained calm overnight.

Protests person besides dispersed to different countries wherever determination are important Iranian communities, including the US, UK, Germany, France, Turkiye, and Pakistan, successful solidarity with the protesters successful Iran.

How galore radical person died successful the protests?

More than 100 information personnel person been killed successful caller days, authorities media has reported, portion absorption activists accidental the decease toll is higher and includes hundreds of protesters.

Al Jazeera cannot independently verify these figures.

Experts fearfulness that the decease toll could beryllium acold higher. “Minimal quality that makes it retired of the full net shutdown signifies that thousands of citizens mightiness person been killed by authorities forces,” Alemzadeh said.

Is the net down?

Iran’s net blackout entered its 4th time connected Monday, according to watchdog NetBlocks.

It remains unclear whether the net was actively blocked by the government. However, successful a station connected societal media connected Thursday, NetBlocks said the blackout follows “a bid of escalating integer censorship measures targeting protests crossed the state and hinders the public’s close to pass astatine a captious moment”.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told overseas diplomats successful Tehran connected Monday that the net would soon beryllium restored successful Iran, adding that the authorities was coordinating with the information constitution connected the issue.

The overseas curate said connectivity would besides beryllium restored to embassies and authorities ministries.

Is the US progressive successful the protests?

Since protests began successful December, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened that Washington could intervene militarily successful Iran if determination is simply a convulsive crackdown.

Araghchi alleged that nationwide protests person “turned convulsive and bloody to springiness an excuse” for Trump to intervene militarily.

He added that Trump’s informing of subject enactment against Tehran should ‌protests crook ‌violent had motivated “terrorists” ⁠to people protesters and information forces ‌to promote overseas intervention. “We are acceptable for warfare but besides for dialogue,” helium said.

Araghchi besides said that the Iranian authorities person gathered video footage of weapons being distributed to protesters, adding that they volition soon merchandise confessions from detainees.

The demonstrations had been “stoked and fuelled” by overseas elements, helium said, noting information forces would “hunt down” those responsible.

What volition hap next?

Alemzadeh said an uprising could escalate successful Iran if protesters’ demands are not addressed.

“Protesters person been faced with repression that is unprecedented successful brutality, adjacent with the Islamic Republic’s notorious standard,” she said.

She added: “The grievances, however, are not going to beryllium quieted this clip around.”

Alemzadeh said that beingness for galore successful Iran has go intolerable nether the existent economical conditions, which galore spot arsenic caused by corruption, mismanagement and planetary sanctions. Additionally, Iranians person been denied state of code and manner for decades, she added.

“Even if this circular of protests is repressed by utmost violence, different could look successful nary clip until a extremist displacement occurs,” she said.

“This mightiness beryllium initiated domestically by factions of the governmental elite, by marginalising [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei and destroying the oligarchic economy, efficaciously abandoning the ‘Islamic’ portion of the republic and its beneficiaries, oregon done US/Israeli intervention, which is apt to pb to chaos and much – but possibly antithetic – grievances for Iranians.”