Protests sweeping Iran

Protests broke out over soaring prices in Iran on December 28, 2025 after the rial plunged to a record low against the U.S. dollar, and have snowballed into a broader challenge to the clerical rulers who have governed Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The protest started with shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar who shuttered their shops and began demonstrating. It then spread to other provinces of Iran. The plummeting currency has triggered steep inflation, with food prices an average of 72% higher than last year. Annual inflation is currently around 40%.

Iran’s economy is ailing for several reasons. The country fought a 12-day war with Israel in June 2025, which resulted in infrastructural damage in several Iranian cities. Additionally, in September 2025, the United Nations re-imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program when the UN Security Council voted against permanently lifting economic sanctions on Iran. In December, Iran introduced a new tier in its national fuel subsidy system, effectively raising the price of what had been some of the world’s cheapest petrol or gasoline and adding to the financial strain on households.

Officials will now reassess fuel prices every three months, opening the door to further hikes. At the same time, food prices are set to climb after the Central Bank recently scrapped a preferential, subsidized dollar-rial rate for all imports except medicine and wheat. While chants by protesters initially focused on the ailing economy, they have switched to opposition to the clerical establishment in Iran. Some protesters have also begun chanting in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of deposed Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the heir to the former Pahlavi monarchy. Many supporters of Pahlavi are calling for a return to the monarchy, although Pahlavi himself says he favors holding a referendum to determine what type of government structure Iranians want.

Demands for democracy and opposition to the Islamic government’s strict laws have been building for some time, especially since the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in police custody in 2022. Protests have also spread to other countries where there are significant Iranian communities, including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Turkey, and Pakistan, in solidarity with the protesters in Iran. More than 100 security personnel have been killed in recent days, state media has reported, while opposition activists say the death toll is higher and includes hundreds of protesters.

Since protests began in December, U.S. President Trump has repeatedly threatened that Washington could intervene militarily in Iran if there is a violent crackdown. At this point, Trump is evaluating responses to the Iranian situation, with advisors suggesting cyberattacks or increased sanctions, and possibly military strikes against security services involved in suppressing protests. The U.S. is looking to restore internet access for Iranians, potentially through Elon Musk’s Starlink, which Iran has jammed. While threatening action, Trump also indicated Iran’s leaders want to negotiate, though Iran insists on terms like recognizing uranium enrichment rights. The U.S. is in a high-stakes situation, balancing potential intervention with diplomatic engagement, all while Iran faces severe internal unrest and external pressures, making the situation extremely volatile.

Yet the Iranian people have increasingly poured onto the streets to confront the regime’s murder and torture squads. There has never been such a mass display of raw courage in the teeth of such vicious repression. If the regime does fall, this will be a seismic event, reshaping the region and world politics. The insurrection might be the most consequential global event so far this century. Most Western media initially ignored the Iranian insurrection, then downplayed it as mere cost of living protests, and then began to amplify regime propaganda claims. The reason is that the uprising is not just against the regime but against the repressive tyranny of Islam itself.

This is an opportunity for the U.S. government to deal with the corrupt and criminal mullahs once and forever. They could easily target military installments, government building, oppressive forces that are targeting the protesters, but the more likely outcome is that the U.S. will try to continue their economic pressure, cut of Iran from the international monetary system and keep putting pressure on them for potential negotiations. It is likely this is a unfruitful strategy and in this moment, it would be better to hit Iran hard and with no mercy as the ultimate U.S. goal must be regime change.