[Explained] Iran In Turmoil: Why Massive Anti-Khamenei Protests Have Erupted

Tehran: Iran is witnessing one of the most significant waves of public unrest in years, as mass protests that began in late December 2025 have spread from the capital Tehran to cities and provinces across the country. Demonstrations initially focused on economic grievances have rapidly evolved into broader political dissent against the Islamic Republic’s leadership, especially Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — the country’s most powerful figure.  At least seven people have been killed in the clashes between citizens and security forces, AFP reported as the protests entered the fifth day on Friday.

US will intervene: Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump on Friday, as per a Reuters report, said ‍that ⁠if Iran shoots and ​violently kills ‌peaceful protesters, the United ​States of America will come ‌to their rescue. “We are locked and ‌loaded ‌and ready ‌to ‍go,” ⁠he ​said in ⁠a Truth Social post.

Responding to this, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Larijani, said that US interference in Iranian protests would lead to chaos across region, Reuters reported.

The immediate spark: Economic crisis

The protests were triggered by a deepening economic crisis:

The Iranian rial crashed to historic lows against the US dollar, undermining household incomes and purchasing power.

Inflation soared, with official figures showing prices of food and essential goods rising sharply.

Merchants and shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar staged strikes and shut their shops over rising costs and economic mismanagement, encouraging wider sections of society to take to the streets.

Economic hardship has been compounded by years of international sanctions, reliance on oil revenue, and structural fiscal mismanagement, which many Iranians say have eroded confidence in the government’s ability to stabilize the economy.

“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,” a protestor was quoted as saying by ABC News.

From bread lines to political rage

While economic pain was the initial catalyst, the protests quickly took on a political dimension:

Demonstrators have been heard chanting anti-government slogans such as “Mullahs must leave” and “Death to the dictator,” directly targeting the ruling theocratic establishment and Supreme Leader Khamenei, reported NDTV World.

Students, merchants, and ordinary citizens — long frustrated with political repression, corruption, and limited freedoms — joined strikes, marches, and demonstrations. �

This shift reflects deeper societal discontent that predates the current unrest. Previous waves of protest — notably in 2022 after Mahsa Amini’s death in morality police custody — energized a broad coalition of Iranians unhappy with both social restrictions and political authoritarianism.

What happened on Thursday?

Iran’s Fars news agency reported that in Lordegan, protesters on Thursday 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.

According to the Fars report, buildings were “severely damaged”. In Azna, Fars said “rioters took advantage of a protest gathering… to attack a police commissariat”. On social media, purported videos—whose authenticity OdishaBytes couldn’t verify independently—showed cars set on fire during running battles between protesters and security forces.

BREAKING: Iranians are bravely fighting against the barbaric Islamic regime in Iran, risking their lives.

Israel and the entire free world stand with you.pic.twitter.com/k4Cm0RzrbI

— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) January 1, 2026

A brave woman in Iran publicly removes her hijab, defying her country’s oppressive Islamic regime that kills women for not wearing it.

Protests continued well into the night inside Iran, as seen here in 1. Isfahan 2. smashing down gates of a governmental building in Fars province and 3. the seizure and burning of a Basij headquarters in Asadabad, Hamadan last night. Most significantly however in 4. Baghmalek,… pic.twitter.com/OVCRfLXwbx

— Omid Djalili (@omid9) January 1, 2026

This is true empowerment, unlike modern feminists in the West who defend Islamist rapists like Hamas.pic.twitter.com/uUxzT9pPvW

— Dr. Maalouf ‏ (@realMaalouf) January 2, 2026

Youth in Babol Burn the Islamic Republic’s Flag in the Streets

Young people in Babol set the Islamic Republic’s flag on fire in the middle of the street. They chant:
“Until the mullah is shrouded, this homeland will not be free.”#Iran pic.twitter.com/KE48HbKVSg

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 1, 2026

Nationwide spread and government response

Protests have been reported in dozens of cities and provinces beyond Tehran, including Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Lorestan, and other regions.

The Iranian authorities have responded with security crackdowns, arrests, and forceful dispersals in some areas. Several people have been reported killed amid clashes between demonstrators and security forces, though exact figures vary.

The government has also restricted movement and communication in some regions and deployed riot control units to contain unrest. At times, this has intensified public anger and widened participation.

Broader frustrations driving the movement

Beyond economics and slogans about Khamenei, the protests tap into a constellation of longer-term grievances:

Inadequate living standards: Persistent unemployment, stagnant wages, rising prices, and lack of affordable housing or healthcare.

Political dissatisfaction: Many Iranians feel their voices are ignored by authorities and that power is overly concentrated in the unelected religious elite.

Human rights concerns: Years of repression and high execution rates have amplified resentment against systemic abuses.

Taking a look at Iran’s economic crisis

According to various reports, 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, reported the Firstpost. The report further states that 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, the Firstpost report states. According to 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.

What This Means for Iran

Analysts say the scale and geographic spread of the protests make them one of the largest public challenges to Iran’s ruling system in recent years. Although initially ignited by economic pain, today’s movement unites disparate social groups under broader calls for political change.

Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute who specialises in Iranian affairs, was quoted  by ABC News as saying: “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.”

“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,” she added in her interview to ABC News.