Tehran, Mashhad, and other cities in Iran face their largest shows of civil disobedience in years, as the government loses control.
The current theocratic regime has been in power since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and the incumbent Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has served since 1989. The Revolution had overthrown the American-backed Constitutional Monarchy of Iran, led by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The demonstrations originated in Tehran’s bazaars and universities, to protest the current economic crisis.
“This feels different because it’s about the people’s buying power, and people really can’t afford anything…Prices keep going up almost hour-by-hour at this point, but how it ends no one really knows … Everyone feels worried,” a Tehran resident said, according to CNN.
However, the purpose of the protests soon bled into politics, as Iranians now call for an end to the regime, and the reinstatement of the monarchy, under Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah, and the current head of the Pahlavi dynasty.
“Millions of Iranians demanded their freedom tonight…Do not let the voices of my courageous compatriots be silenced,” Pahlavi said, in a post on X.
Iranian state media has brushed off the demonstrations, as they posted videos of empty city streets on their news networks. NetBlocks, an internet organization dedicated to cybersecurity, reported that the country was in the midst of a nationwide blackout.
“The incident follows a series of escalating digital censorship measures targeting protests across the country and hinders the public’s right to communicate at a critical moment,” NetBlocks said, according to the BBC.
Despite the peaceful nature of the protests, the government has issued brutal retaliatory efforts. Since the outbreak of demonstrations on December 25, 2025, the Norwegian human rights organization Iran Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO) reported 45 deaths, eight of them children, along with over 2000 protesters arrested.
President Donald Trump has got wind of the situation, and doubled down on his threat of an American attack if more blood is shed.
“I have let them know that if they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots … we’re going to hit them very hard,” Trump said on a radio show, according to CNN.
