Have Iranians had enough of Ayatollah Khamenei? Inside the sweeping protests taking over Iran

In 2022, Iran witnessed an uprising following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was accused by the nation’s morality police of not wearing her veil properly.

Now, four years later, the country is witnessing another wave of protests — perhaps, not on the same scale — but big enough to pose a challenge to Masoud Pezeshkian, the moderate president who came to power around 18 months ago vowing to reform the economy.

How far will these demonstrations go? Have the Iranians had enough of the current regime under octogenarian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? Here’s what we know.

More from Explainers

Why are Iranian women burning Khamenei’s photo to light cigarettes? Iran appoints new central bank chief after economic woes trigger widespread protests

Inside violent protests sweeping across Iran

On Thursday, Iranians and security forces clashed in several cities across the country, with seven people being reportedly killed.

While the protests escalated on Thursday (January 1), they had begun on Sunday (December 28) when shopkeepers and traders took to the streets to protest the government’s handling of a sharp fall in the Iranian rial and rapidly rising prices.

However, since then the demonstrations have spread across other demographics and cities. Women’s rights activists, shopkeepers and students have begun chanting “death to the dictator” and “woman, life, freedom”.

As one protester told ABC News, “These protests are a hunger revolution, this is truly a bread revolution.”

“People have been pushed to desperation. When you look into young people’s faces, you see sadness and exhaustion. Even though they work and are educated, they can’t afford a pair of trainers or to replace a mobile phone. They’re hungry. Everyone is hungry.”

Editor’s Picks

1

Who is Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader and Israel’s Enemy No 1? 2

Iran's President Pezeshkian says country is in 'full-fledged' war with US, Israel & Europe

On Thursday, Iran’s Fars news agency reported that in Lordegan, protesters began throwing stones at the city’s administrative buildings, including the provincial governor’s office, the mosque, the Martyrs’ Foundation, the town hall and banks. This, in turn, prompted the police to respond with tear gas.

Fars further reported that buildings were “severely damaged”. In Azna, Fars said “rioters took advantage of a protest gathering… to attack a police commissariat”. Videos posted on social media showed cars set on fire during running battles between protesters and security forces.

Earlier, a viral video showed a person sitting in the middle of a Tehran street facing down motorcycle police, with comparisons being drawn to China’s ‘Tank Man’ from the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. According to news agency AFP, the footage was recorded outside the Aladdin shopping centre on Republic Street and that it first appeared online around 5 pm local time on Sunday.

🎥 تصاویر و ویدیوهایی از حرکت نمادین یک معترض در تهران به سرعت در حال انتشار در شبکه‌های اجتماعی است. در یک ویدیو، فرد معترض در برابر نیروهای سرکوب جمهوری اسلامی روی زمین نشسته است. کاربران شبکه‌های اجتماعی این حرکت را یادآور اعتراضات در میدان تیان‌آن‌من چین دانسته‌اند که طی آن… pic.twitter.com/r3lz82zAy1

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) December 29, 2025

In response to the protests, the Iranian authorities have made 30 arrests so far, with local news agency Tasnim reporting, “After a coordinated operation by the security and intelligence services, 30 people accused of disturbing public order in the Malard district of western Tehran were identified and arrested last night.”

Economic crisis and rising anger against the regime

But, what’s the cause of these protests in Iran? At first, the demonstrations were triggered owing to Iran’s deepening inflation crisis. Inflation has surged past 42 per cent nationwide amid a collapsing national currency, rapidly rising food and essential goods prices. Food prices have increased 72 per cent and health and medical items are up 50 per cent from December last year.

The rial, Iran’s official currency, is trading at record lows of around 1.3–1.45 million rials per US dollar on the open market, down roughly 20 per cent in December alone. As per Iran’s main state news agency IRNA, mobile phone vendors were upset as their businesses were under threat due to the unchecked depreciation of the rial.

However, the economic crisis only seems to be the catalyst behind the protests. Gissou Nia, a human rights lawyer and Iran expert from the Atlantic Council think tank, told DW that the economic crisis is not the core issue. “As with the protests since December 2017, there’s often an economic catalyst,” she told DW. “But if we listen to the slogans, and the extent of the protests, it’s about profound dissatisfaction with the Iranian regime and the desire for that regime to disappear.”

She added that radical slogans can be heard that signify the larger anger erupting. “We are hearing things like ‘Zan, Zendegi, Azadi’ — Woman, Life, Freedom. We’re also hearing ‘Death to the dictator’. The regime has got to go,” she said.

A protester was also quoted as telling Jerusalem Post that the protests weren’t just about economic woes. While acknowledging that poverty has worsened significantly, he insisted that the deeper problem is systemic. “This is no longer about specific issues,” he said. “It’s against the principle of the regime.”

He argued that years of empty promises from reformist politicians have convinced many Iranians that elections and gradual change are meaningless under what he described as an “absolute dictatorship.”

Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute who specialises in Iranian affairs, also noted that the protests go way beyond economic grievances. “Some people have described the situation with the clerical establishment as a situation of paralysis or someone not being at the helm of power — that being the supreme leader — because we haven’t seen them make any big moves to address these key issues that are upsetting Iranians,” she told ABC News, adding, “As long as the Islamic Republic is in power, these problems will not be solved, and that’s why you’re hearing these anti-regime chants from different cities and towns in the country.”

Some of the protesters have been calling for the return of Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, whose father, the Shah, was deposed by the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Iran speaks up

Earlier in the week, Iran’s moderate President Masoud Pezeshkian noted, “We officially recognise the protests… we hear their voices and we know that this originates from natural pressure arising from the pressure on people’s livelihoods.”

He further instructed the interior minister to engage in dialogue with representatives of demonstrators. Moreover, government officials have refrained from issuing direct threats at the protesters.

The Iranian government also appointed a new Central Bank governor — President Pezeshkian replaced Mohammad Reza Farzin with Nasser Hemmati. Hemmati previously served as economy minister before lawmakers removed him during an earlier currency crisis.

However, security forces have now started violently suppressing the protests. Compared to previous waves of protest, the regime is trying to quash this movement at an earlier stage with violence and intimidation. This suggests that it is very nervous. Tehran’s prosecutor general, Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, also warned that any attempt to create instability would be met with what he called a “decisive response”.

A crucial moment for Iran

The protests pose a significant challenge to the Iranian clerical regime. It comes as Tehran struggles with a massive water shortage and following the 12-day war with Israel last June, in which the Iranian military was unable to defend the country and other cities against daily strikes.

Iranians have living in the fear of another round of military strikes by Israel or the United States. “You can’t plan even for two weeks in this country,” a young man who took part in the protests told The Atlantic. “Without stability, there is no prospect for growth or welfare. We live day by day.”

However, Dagres said it was too early to tell if the protests would lead to major change. “One of the key factors that could drive this is the oil workers going on strike (or) defections by the security forces and basically that they would refuse to obey orders,” she told ABC News.

“So let’s say if that happened in Tehran, I think that would really signal to the regime that something needs to be done, that people need to step down and let the people lead a different and I would say a brighter future for the country. But we haven’t seen that just yet. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”

With inputs from agencies