2025–2026 Iranian protests

Beginning on 28 December 2025, demonstrations erupted across multiple cities in Iran, amid nationwide unrest against the Iranian government and a deepening economic crisis. This event has been the largest uprising since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The ensuing crackdown, carried out under Ali Khamenei's and senior officials' order for live fire on protesters, resulted in massacres that left tens of thousands of protesters dead, making them the largest massacres in modern Iranian history.

Initially sparked by frustration over record-high inflation, food prices, and currency depreciation, the protests quickly evolved into a broader movement demanding an end to the Islamic government. Beginning with the bazaari (shopkeepers and merchants) in Tehran's Grand Bazaar and later university students, the demonstrations soon spread to other major cities and small settlements. Protesters chanted anti-government slogans, and attacked symbols of the government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Although largely leaderless, the protests escalated on 8 January following a call for unified protests by Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last shah. On 8 January, 1.5 million protesters came out to the streets of Tehran and, by 9 January 5 million protesters came out nationwide according to an unnamed European diplomat based on intelligence. Pahlavi has called for a peaceful transition and a referendum to decide Iran's future political system. The Iranian government has cut off Internet access and telephone services in an attempt to prevent protesters from organising. It has accused the United States and Israel of fuelling the protests, which analysts suggest may be a tactic to increase security forces' willingness to kill protesters. An Israeli minister and a Twitter account allegedly operated by Mossad have claimed Mossad involvement.

By 9 January, millions had taken to the streets in protests across all 31 provinces. Amid the internet blackout, Iranian security forces escalated their use of live ammunition against demonstrators. Hospitals in Tehran and Shiraz were reported to be overwhelmed by injured protesters, many suffering gunshot wounds. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed security forces fired on protesters, raising international concern over human rights. In addition, thousands were arrested during the violent crackdown. Despite the blackout, on 10 January 2026, The Guardian documented multiple reports of security forces opening fire on demonstrations, with one eyewitness stating they saw "hundreds of bodies" across Tehran.

By late January, Time, The Guardian and Iran International reported that between 30,000 and 36,500 protesters were killed during 8–9 January. As of 5 February 2026, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) had documented a total of 18,759 cases, including 7,015 confirmed deaths, of whom at least 6,508 were protesters, with 11,744 additional cases under review. On 11 February, president Masoud Pezeshkian apologized to the nation for the crackdown of the protests.

On 21 February, a second large wave of protests broke out, led by students at several universities.

Background

Economic crisis in Iran

Beginning in 2024, Iran's economy experienced sharp inflation, a devalued currency, and an energy deficit, culminating in electricity and gas disruptions and apologies from president Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran has suffered declines in global influence, such as with the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, a major ally. The economic crisis was accompanied by fears of renewed conflict following the June 2025 Twelve-Day War with Israel. Iran's nuclear facilities were also struck by the United States. In September 2025, the UN reimposed sanctions on Iran through the "snapback" mechanism, freezing Iranian assets abroad, halting arms transactions, and imposing penalties related to the country's ballistic-missile program. Many Iranians feared a broader confrontation involving the US, which contributed to market instability.

In the final months of 2025, Iran's economy experienced a sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial, with the US dollar reaching approximately 145,000 Iranian tomans. The country's state statistics centre reported an inflation rate of 42% in December 2025. Food prices rose 72%, while health and medical goods increased 50% year-on-year. By 3 January, the government increased the value of the rial to 1.38 million. This had no effect, and on 6 January, the rial broke its record low again (reaching 1.5 million to the US dollar), causing a sharp increase in prices, including food and other essential goods. Analysts cited government monetary and fiscal policies, economic mismanagement, chronic budget deficits, and the continuation of sanctions as key contributing factors. These conditions directly affected trade guilds, particularly businesses dependent on imports.

Iran is experiencing a mismanaged water crisis. Reports in Iranian media indicated the government planned to raise taxes with the start of the Iranian new year on 21 March, fuelling further concern. Some protest messaging linked economic hardship to criticism of the government's foreign policy; during the December 2025 demonstrations, some participants chanted "Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, My Life for Iran". Discontent has also been due to political corruption, with protesters accusing the government of authoritarianism and prioritising proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas over domestic needs. Iran faces challenges from ethnic secessionist movements from the Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Khuzestani Arabs, and Balochis and from the US and Israel.

There were calls for the overthrow of the government, and distrust in the government's calls for dialogue, seeing them as self-serving and deceptive. NPR reported that months before the protests, public anger and frustration had been mounting due to energy shortages, civil rights abuses and widespread corruption, and that the protests sparked concerns that they could deteriorate into something much more serious. The political character of the protests was marked by protesters chanting "Death to the Dictator" in reference to Supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, and their loss of faith in Pezeshkian, who was elected in 2024 on promises of good governance, but had overseen water and electricity cuts, while failing to deliver on the promise of lifting internet censorship. Pezeshkian promised to meet with protest representatives, and recognised "the constitutional right of peaceful protest", although he lacked control over security forces. By 1 January 2026, dozens of protesters had been arrested and there were cases of security forces firing live ammunition at protesters. Students at Shahid Beheshti University released a statement declaring that "This criminal system has taken our future hostage for 47 years. It won't be changed with reform or with false promises".

Comparison to previous protests

The protests were described as Iran's largest since 2022, when nationwide demonstrations erupted following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. On 30 December, Ellie Borhan, a British-Iranian activist, viewed this wave of protests as stronger than previous ones. Iranian public faith in their government faded since the 2022 crackdown on the Woman, Life, Freedom movement during the Mahsa Amini protests. Protests were previously held in May 2025 by truck drivers beginning in Bandar Abbas, who blocked roads and ports in Iran due to discontent over low salaries, high insurance rates, and possible hikes in fuel prices in the future.

Protest slogans have shifted ideologically compared to the 2022 protests. Some new chants increasingly reflect monarchist sentiments. Already in June 2025, during the Iran–Israel war, the exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi had intensified his political efforts and appealed to the international community to help the Iranian people force oust Ali Khamenei's theocratic rule while offering himself up as interim leader to take over running the country. In comparison to the Mahsa Amini protests (2022–2023) which were mainly fuelled by girls and women, young men played larger roles in later rounds of the 2025–2026 protests.

Market traders were influential during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, helping to mobilize public support that ultimately led to the overthrow of the monarchy. The demonstrations were notable in the context of a large-scale government crackdown on dissidents, including arrests of prominent opponents and the highest number of executions in nearly 40 years. Executions in Iran have reportedly doubled in 2025 compared to 2024; the execution trends were on the rise since 2022, with activists alleging that the Islamic Republic aims to use executions to instil fear in their population and therefore suppress internal opposition.