Anti-government protests in Iran have continued for a 15th day, with the death toll exceeding 500 and arrests surpassing 10,000, according to the US-based NGO HRANA.
International news agencies have not been able to independently verify these figures, and the Iranian government has not provided data on deaths from the protests, which it attributes to “vandals” instigated by foreign powers.
The protests began in late December 2025, with Tehran bazaar merchants protesting the sharp rise in inflation.
Fears of further inflation intensified last week, when prices of basic goods rose dramatically in a single day, with some products disappearing entirely from store shelves.
Rising inflation, combined with the devaluation of the national currency*, brought even more people into the streets.
*The decrease in a currency’s value against other currencies, which makes imports more expensive and exports cheaper. It boosts the competitiveness of the domestic economy, but can lead to inflation and a higher cost of living.
Iran’s economy has been under constant pressure for years, mainly due to US and European sanctions linked to its nuclear program.
The 12-day war with Israel in June 2025, in which the US also participated by bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities, placed further economic pressure on the country.
According to HRANA, protests have taken place in approximately 585 locations, in more than 185 cities and across all 31 provinces of Iran.
These are the largest protests in scale since 2022, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while in custody of the Morality Police for wearing her hijab improperly.
By mid-October 2022, at least 215 people had been killed in the protests.
Initially, the government showed flexibility, offering a monthly allowance ($7) to citizens, while the country’s president, M. Pezeshkian, described the protesters’ demands as “just.”
However, as protesters did not back down, the government intensified its crackdown, cutting access to the internet and telecommunications.
Pezeshkian promised to provide a solution but warned that he has a “duty” not to allow the destabilization of the country, which foreign powers (specifically the US), according to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are seeking.
After the kidnapping of Maduro, Trump issued threats against several countries, including Iran, stating that it would be “hit very hard” if “peaceful protesters” were killed.
On Sunday (11.01), he said that Iran’s leadership had called seeking “to negotiate”, adding, however, that “we may have to act before a meeting.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister confirmed his country’s intention to engage in talks with the US, but stressed that Iran is “fully prepared for war.”
Israel (the US’s largest ally in the region) stated that it is “closely monitoring” developments and expressed its support for the protesters.
The protests brought Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah of Iran who was overthrown in 1979 and who lives in exile in the US, back into the spotlight.
He called on Iranians to escalate the protests, urging Iranian security forces to “join the people.”
Addressing Iranians “outside Iran,” he said that “all embassies and consulates belong to the Iranian people,” calling on them to replace the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran (current) with that of the monarchy.
Iran (Persia until 1935) has a population of nearly 90 million and an area of 1.65 million sq km (about 12.5 times the size of Greece). Around 90–95% of the population are Shiites.
It holds approximately one quarter of the Middle East’s oil reserves and 12% of global reserves.
According to its theocratic constitution, Iran’s Supreme (religious) Leader stands above everyone and everything and is the commander-in-chief of the army, the intelligence and security services, the Revolutionary Guards*, and the only one who can declare war.
Second, by a wide margin, is the country’s president, elected by the people.
*They are a second army (separate from the regular one) aimed at preventing a potential coup and protecting the state ideology.
1979 is the year Iran shifted from a secular (religiously free) state to a theocratic one.
This happened with the Iranian (or Islamic) Revolution, that is, the overthrow of the Iranian Shah (king) in 1979 and the establishment of an Islamic Republic founded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Although the majority of Iranians participated in the uprisings against the Shah, they were quickly overtaken by Khomeini and his supporters, who assumed control, basing the laws of the state on religion.
