{"id":380754,"date":"2026-01-01T04:03:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T04:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/380754\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T04:03:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T04:03:08","slug":"we-want-the-mullahs-gone-economic-crisis-sparks-biggest-protests-in-iran-since-2022-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/380754\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We want the mullahs gone\u2019: economic crisis sparks biggest protests in Iran since 2022 | Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alborz, a textile merchant in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, decided he could no longer sit on the sidelines. He closed his shop and took to the streets, joining merchants across Iran<\/a> who shuttered their stores and students who took over their campuses to protest against declining economic conditions.<\/p>\n

The sudden loss of purchasing power pushed Alborz and tens of thousands of other Iranians into the streets<\/a>, where protests are now entering their fourth day. Students have paralysed university campuses, traders have shut down their stores and demonstrators have blocked off streets in defiance of police. Protests have spread from the capital, Tehran, to cities across Iran.<\/p>\n

Despite the risk of being jailed for his political activism, the father of four had run out of options. On Sunday, the national currency plunged to a historic low, putting further pressure on Alborz, who was already struggling to provide for his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat will my children eat? Do we have to bring suitcases of cash to simply buy bread? Do you find that normal?\u201d Alborz told the Guardian over the phone, speaking under a pseudonym for fear of security reprisals.<\/p>\n

The unprecedented depreciation of the national currency on Sunday \u2013 when the Iranian rial dropped to 1.42m to the US dollar, a more than 56% decrease in value in six months \u2013 was a breaking point for an already struggling economy and population. The plunging currency has caused soaring inflation, with food prices up by 72% on average compared with the same time last year.<\/p>\n

Iranian inflation graphic<\/a><\/p>\n

Iran is also under some of the world\u2019s most intense sanctions, which have spurred inflation as the country struggles to access frozen funds abroad and foreign exchange, something exacerbated by its growing reliance on imports.<\/p>\n

A currency exchange office in Tehran. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty<\/p>\n

The protests are the largest in Iran since 2022, when Iranians erupted in anger at the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini<\/a>, who died in police custody after being arrested for not wearing her hijab properly. Those protests were violently quashed and ultimately simmered out.<\/p>\n

Social media in Iran has been filled with videos of protesters chanting anti-government slogans and throwing stones at security forces. In one video from Tehran, a lone man sits blocking the way of security services on motorbikes as crowds of protesters flee from teargas.<\/p>\n

Video<\/a><\/p>\n

Though the protests started as demonstrations against deteriorating living conditions, they have widened to express grievances at the way Iran is being governed. Women\u2019s rights activists, shopkeepers and students have begun chanting \u201cdeath to the dictator\u201d and \u201cwoman, life, freedom\u201d \u2013 slogans that could put people in prison.<\/p>\n

Alborz said: \u201cFor years now, we have slowly but surely made significant changes to our lifestyles because of this corrupt government. This was the last nail in the coffin. We wanted this regime gone and now there\u2019s no way this regime will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government, still shaken from a brutal 12-day war with Israel in June which rocked the foundations of the Iranian regime, has called for dialogue with protest leaders. Iran\u2019s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said the government should listen to the \u201clegitimate demands\u201d of protesters.<\/p>\n

But they are wary of the offer, believing it to be an attempt to co-opt their demands and kill the momentum of the rare protest movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must be naive to think Iranians trust this government or the regime,\u201d said Farhad, a 19-year-old university student active in the protest movement who spoke under a pseudonym.<\/p>\n

He and other students described how security services had confiscated student IDs and beaten and arrested some protesters. A protester in Tehran sent the Guardian a picture of a metal pellet, which they said was shot at them by security forces. The Guardian could not independently verify the claim of the protester.<\/p>\n

Iranian GDP growth graphic<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf the administration wanted to talk, they wouldn\u2019t fire teargas, shoot at protesters and if dialogue is what they wanted, they would not have executed protesters in 2023. There is no willingness from any of us to talk to them, we want the mullahs gone and we want democracy,\u201d Farhad added.<\/p>\n

As the Iranian government dealt with protests at home, it was also facing threats from abroad.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the US president, Donald Trump<\/a>, flirted with the idea of striking Iran again, suggesting there could be renewed nuclear activity in Iran \u2013 telling reporters if there was, \u201cwe\u2019ll knock them down\u201d. Iran has rejected claims it is enriching uranium and has said its nuclear programme is peaceful.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said in a statement it would confront any \u201csedition, unrest\u201d or security threats.<\/p>\n

The IRGC said: \u201cEnemies are seeking to sow the seeds of sedition within Iranian society through cognitive warfare, psychological operations, falsified narratives, fear-mongering and encouragement of capitulation to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite intimidation from authorities, protesters said they were not cowed. They expected trade unions to soon join the merchants in striking.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday, we blocked roads and stopped the security forces from advancing. People sat on the roads and chanted that they could kill us, but we wouldn\u2019t let them pass. We are not going to open shops until the regime weakens further,\u201d said Alborz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alborz, a textile merchant in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, decided he could no longer sit on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[45,49,48,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-380754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}