The revolt that took over the streets of Iran had starting December 28th and quickly turned into one of the largest protest movements against the Islamic regime since the murder of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not wearing the hijab (veil) correctly in 2022.
Unlike previous demonstrations, the protests in recent weeks emerged relatively modestly in response to the economic instability faced in the country, although they evolved into a political movement against the management of the ayatollahs, which reacted with brutal repression.
According to a report by the US-based Human Rights Activists (HRANA) news agency, 18,137 arrests and thousands of deaths have been made so far. Comparatively, the major protests of 2022 recorded at least 476 deaths, according to the organization Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO).
A chronology of the protests
It all started in December 28thwhen traders and economic sectors took to the streets driven by the collapse of the rial, Iran’s official currency, and high inflation. Thousands of Iranians joined this new wave of protests that has spread to more than a hundred cities since then..
Several videos of shopkeepers and traders chanting at Charsou Mall and marching into the street began to be published on social media. The images were verified by The New York Times.
With the growth of protestsuniversity students and Iranians from lower economic classes, those mainly affected by the devaluation of the national currency, mobilized in the streets in the following days. Iran has an annual inflation rate of over 42%, and during 2025, the Iranian currency lost 69% of its value against the dollar.
As soon as it noticed the expansion of the demonstrations, the Iranian regime began to respond with tear gas, in an attempt to dismiss the first groups mobilized. However, membership only grew.
Three days after the start of the revolt, the demonstrations spread from markets and universities in the main cities to cities across the country and took on a political tone. One of the videos verified by the Times shows protesters throwing objects at a government building in the southern city of Fasa in December 31st. Then they shake the gates until they open.
In the first days of 2026, the first deathsindicating that the protests were turning violent. Despite Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s initially conciliatory tone in early January, recognizing the financial difficulties the country was experiencing, the regime responded to the protests with truculence.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also acknowledged the difficulties faced by the Iranian population, but blamed “foreign mercenaries” and “vandals” for the problems. After this speech by the country’s highest authority, violence appears to have increased.
Em January 6ththe Iranian crown prince in exile, Reza Pahlavi, called for protests at home and abroad.
Witnesses in Tehran reported to EFE Agency the existence of real “war zones” and “pitched battles” in several parts of the city, where violent clashes broke out between protesters and the police, especially on Thursday and Friday nights.
Last Monday, supporters of the regime took to the streets in defense of the authorities, an action that Iran’s supreme leader hailed as “a warning to American politicians.”
Trump threatens to intervene to protect protesters in Iran
The large mobilizations gained new momentum after a demonstration by US President Donald Trump, threatening to help the protesters if the Iranian authorities shot at them.
The Republican said this week that he received contact from Iranian leaders, in an attempt to negotiate, a door he closed this Tuesday (13). Trump also did not rule out military intervention in the Persian country.
In the early hours of Wednesday (14, Tehran local time), a plane belonging to the US Navy flew over an area close to the coast of Iran.
Regime suspends communication services to try to contain the revolt
The crackdown on protests has been severe, and authorities have restricted internet access across the country, making it impossible to connect to websites or services from outside Iran. The communications blockade has isolated the Islamic Republic from the rest of the world for the past five days and remains in effect.
Service cuts affected international calls, internal text messages and the internet.
In response, Trump proposed sending Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites to Iran to ensure continued access to network services.
The international community reacted with concern to the scale of the protests and the repression. The European Union is considering new sanctions against Iran, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has expressed her support for protesters demanding freedom.
First response: US announces tariffs on Iran’s trading partners
President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that any nation that “does business” with Iran will be punished with a 25% tariff imposed by Washington, marking another step in the campaign to economically strangle the regime in Tehran.
“This order is immediate and final,” Trump said in a post on his official Truth Social account. This measure should affect the USA’s two biggest geopolitical adversaries today, China and Russia, but also countries considered Washington’s allies, such as India and Brazil – which, like the two dictatorships mentioned, are part of the Brics alongside Iran.
Regime speeds up trials and executions of protesters
The Iranian regime scheduled for this Wednesday (14) the first execution of a protester who participated in the protests that began at the end of December in the Persian country.
The head of Iran’s Judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, promised to speed up the trials of protesters involved in the street riots amid growing international concern over the brutal repression carried out by security agents on the streets.
According to Mohseni-Eje’i, people considered leaders of the protests, which he calls “the main elements”, will be publicly judged.
