{"id":404723,"date":"2026-01-12T14:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T14:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/404723\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T14:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T14:09:09","slug":"why-there-are-mass-protests-in-iran-and-could-the-us-get-involved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/404723\/","title":{"rendered":"Why there are mass protests in Iran and could the US get involved?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Anti-government protests have erupted across all 31 of Iran\u2019s provinces in a wave of unrest<\/a> that marks the biggest challenge to the regime in years.\n <\/p>\n

\n An ongoing communications shutdown \u2013 which experts say is unprecedented in its scale \u2013 was imposed by authorities on Thursday and has mostly isolated the country from the outside world amid the deadly unrest.\n <\/p>\n

\n US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran if security forces respond with force against protesters<\/a>, hundreds of whom are reported to have been killed. Thousands more have been arrested.\n <\/p>\n

\n As public anger continues to build, here\u2019s what you need to know.\n <\/p>\n

\n The protests began around a fortnight ago in Tehran\u2019s bazaars over rampant inflation but have spread to more than 180 cities and towns across the country, morphing into general protests against the regime.\n <\/p>\n

\n Concerns over inflation came to a head when the prices of basic goods like cooking oil and chicken dramatically spiked, with some products vanishing from shelves altogether.\n <\/p>\n

\n Exacerbating the situation was a decision by the central bank<\/a> to end a program allowing some importers to access cheaper US dollars compared to the rest of the market \u2013 which led shopkeepers to increase prices and some to shutter their doors, sparking the demonstrations.\n <\/p>\n

\n The move by the bazaaris, as shopkeepers are known, is a drastic measure for a group traditionally supportive of the Islamic Republic.\n <\/p>\n

\n The reformist government attempted to alleviate the pressure by offering direct cash handouts of almost $7 per month to the entire population, but the move failed to quell the unrest.\n <\/p>\n

\"Protesters<\/p>\n

How widespread are the protests and how many people have died?<\/p>\n

\n The unrest is the biggest in scale since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini<\/a> in the custody of the religious police prompted the widespread \u201cWoman, Life, Freedom\u201d protests.\n <\/p>\n

\n Fueled by poverty and sometimes ethnic inequality, crowds chanted \u201cDeath to Khamenei,\u201d directly challenging Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate authority over the nation\u2019s religious and state affairs.\n <\/p>\n

\n Nearly 500 protesters, including at least eight children, have been killed since demonstrations began, according to US-based Human Rights Activist New Agency (HRANA). It said more than 10,000 individuals have also been arrested. CNN could not independently verify the numbers of those killed and arrested.\n <\/p>\n

\n The fact that the recent protests began with the bazaaris \u2013 a powerful force for change in\u202fIran\u2019s history and seen as loyal to the regime \u2013 is notable.\n <\/p>\n

\n The enduring alliance between the bazaaris and the clergy in\u202fIran\u202fsaw the shopkeepers play a crucial role as kingmakers across\u202fIran\u2019s history. It was their support of those very clergymen that eventually helped the Islamic Revolution of 1979 succeed, giving the rebels a financial backbone that led to the fall of the shah, or monarch.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cFor more than 100 years of\u202fIranian history, bazaaris have been key actors in all of\u202fIran\u2019s major political movements,\u201d Arang Keshavarzian, professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at New York University and author of \u201cBazaar and State in\u202fIran,\u201d told CNN. \u201cMany observers do believe that the bazaaris are some of the most loyal to the Islamic Republic.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Their role as a major political force has become more symbolic, but the impact of fluctuations in currency on their businesses is what led them to spark the protests that have since turned deadly.\n <\/p>\n

\n Authorities have also sought to differentiate between economic protesters and those calling for regime change, branding the latter as \u201crioters\u201d and foreign-backed \u201cmercenaries\u201d and warning of a tougher crackdown against them.\n <\/p>\n

\"Protesters<\/p>\n

\n Hurt by Israel\u2019s large-scale infiltration and strikes last year, Iran\u2019s regime moved swiftly to brand those demanding change as enemies of the state. The emergence of Reza Pahlavi<\/a>, the exiled son of the deposed shah, as an alternative leader was equally striking, as he actively rallied protesters and called for them to take to the streets.\n <\/p>\n

\n This round of protests feels different from previous ones because of a sense of frustration and exhaustion among people in Iran, said Dina Esfandiary, Middle East lead for Bloomberg Economics based in Geneva, Switzerland.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s reached a boiling point,\u201d Esfandiary said. \u201cI anticipate that the Islamic Republic that we\u2019re seeing today is one unlikely to see 2027. I really think there is going to be some change.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The influence of the Iranian regime has also been substantially weakened compared to previous periods of unrest, in the wake of Hamas\u2019 October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel. Israel responded by launching a campaign to root out Tehran\u2019s proxies from the region and both Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities last year.\n <\/p>\n

Who runs Iran, and what is the regime doing about the unrest?<\/p>\n

\n Iran has been a theocracy since 1979, when clerics toppled a secular monarch allied with the West, leading to the formation of the Islamic Republic led by Khamenei\u2019s predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.\n <\/p>\n

\n Masoud Pezeshkian was elected president in 2024, promoting a more pragmatic foreign policy, but his powers are limited, and Khamenei calls the shots on all major matters of state.\n <\/p>\n

\n On Sunday, Pezeshkian blamed his country\u2019s ongoing unrest on foreign-linked \u201cterrorists,\u201d who he said were burning bazaars, mosques and cultural sites. He also said last year\u2019s 12-day war between Israel and Iran has led his country \u201cinto chaos.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Iran's<\/p>\n

\n Some protesters could face the death penalty for their actions, Tehran\u2019s prosecutor Ali Salehi said Friday, according to the semi-official news agency Tasnim.\n <\/p>\n

\n Salehi said acts of vandalism targeting public property carried out as part of the anti-regime demonstrations will be considered \u201cmoharebeh,\u201d translated as \u201cwaging war against God.\u201d The punishment for moharebeh includes execution.\n <\/p>\n

\n Pezeshkian previously positioned himself as a champion of the working classes, promising economic relief through reduced government intervention in the currency market while also blaming US sanctions, corruption and excessive money printing.\n <\/p>\n

\n But corruption across all parts of government, mismanagement of funds and the convergence of environmental problems and stagnant leadership has taken the leadership to the brink.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNone of Iran\u2019s political leaders have a blueprint to get Iran out the crises,\u201d\u202fKeshavarzian, the associate professor, told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe only tool that the Islamic Republic truly has left is coercion and force. People have tried different methods to air their views,\u201d he added.\u202f\u201cBut over the past 15 years\u202flarge segments of the population have lost trust in the regime.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

What have Trump and Khamenei said?<\/p>\n

\n Trump said his administration is monitoring the deadly protests in Iran and is continuing to weigh potential military options<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe military is looking at it, and we\u2019re looking at some very strong options. We\u2019ll make a determination,\u201d Trump told reporters on Air Force One Sunday. The US president has warned Tehran multiple times of severe consequences if protesters are killed.\n <\/p>\n

\"US<\/p>\n

\n Trump said Iran called him on Saturday to negotiate amid the US threats. \u201cThey called yesterday,\u201d Trump said Sunday. \u201cIran called to negotiate.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Iran is ready to negotiate with the US based on \u201cmutual respect and interests,\u201d Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also said a communication channel between Araghchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff \u201cremains open\u201d and that \u201ccertain points and ideas have been presented by the other side.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Just six months ago, Israel and the US\u202flaunched attacks on\u202fIran<\/a>\u202ffor the first time, with Trump raising the prospects of new attacks in recent weeks, after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in December.\n <\/p>\n

\n On Friday, Khamenei called on Trump to \u201cfocus on the problems of his own country.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere are some agitators who want to please the American president by destroying public property. A united Iranian people will defeat all enemies,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe Islamic Republic will not back down in the face of those who are looking to destroy us,\u201d Khamenei added.\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN\u2019s Billy Stockwell, Kara Fox, Max Saltman, Adam Pourahmadi, Charlotte Reck, Aditi Sangal, Betul Tuncer, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Todd Symons and Helen Regan contributed reporting.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anti-government protests have erupted across all 31 of Iran\u2019s provinces in a wave of unrest that marks the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":404724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-404723","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404723","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=404723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/404724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}