Iran is currently experiencing its most significant wave of protests in three years, sparked by severe economic hardship, escalating costs of living, and a dramatic depreciation of the national currency. Shopkeepers in Tehran initiated strikes over high prices and economic stagnation on Sunday, December 29, 2025, with these actions quickly spreading to various cities across the country. The protests have since turned violent, leading to clashes between demonstrators and security forces and resulting in multiple fatalities.

The unrest has been fueled by a confluence of factors, including persistent Western sanctions, an alarming 40 percent inflation rate, and allegations of government corruption and mismanagement. The Iranian rial has plummeted to approximately 1.4 million to the US dollar, exacerbating the financial woes of ordinary citizens. On Thursday, December 25, 2025, protests in several Iranian cities saw initial reports of six deaths. Subsequently, a total of seven people have been reported killed, including a volunteer for the Basij security force, although human rights groups have contradicted official narratives, insisting that some fatalities attributed to security forces were in fact among the protesters.

President Donald Trump of the United States issued a stern warning, stating that the US is "locked and loaded" and prepared to intervene if Iran violently suppresses peaceful protesters. Trump declared on his Truth Social platform that if Iran "[shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue." This threat follows earlier statements from Trump suggesting the US could strike Iran if it resumed its nuclear weapons program, further escalating already tense relations.

Senior Iranian officials swiftly condemned Trump's remarks, warning against any foreign interference. Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, cautioned that US intervention would lead to chaos across the Middle East and destabilize the entire region, ultimately harming American interests. Similarly, Ali Shamkhani, adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asserted that Iran’s national security is a "red line" and not subject to "adventurist tweets," threatening a "regret-inducing response" to any external meddling. Iran has a history of targeting American soldiers stationed in the Middle East and previously attacked the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar after US strikes on Iranian nuclear enrichment sites.

The Iranian government, under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, initially attempted a more conciliatory approach, inviting protest leaders for dialogue and instructing his administration to address "legitimate demands." However, as the protests intensified and deaths mounted, authorities appear to have adopted a harsher stance. Riot squads have reportedly opened fire, carried out mass arrests, deployed heavy armed presence, and blocked roads. State television has reported the arrests of seven individuals, including alleged monarchists and those with links to European-based groups, and the confiscation of smuggled pistols. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps has also issued a warning against foreign interference or "sedition."

The current demonstrations, while significant, are smaller in scale compared to the widespread anger triggered in 2022 by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for violating Iran's strict dress code for women. That incident led to hundreds of deaths, including members of security forces. Visuals from the ongoing unrest, such as a photograph from January 2, 2026, showing a lone demonstrator defiantly sitting before armed security forces in Tehran, have drawn parallels to the iconic "Tank Man" image from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, highlighting the bravery of the protesters against state power.

Despite the domestic turmoil, Iran has maintained that it is not enriching uranium anywhere in the country and has signaled its openness to negotiations with Western powers, even as Israeli and US airstrikes in June targeted its nuclear infrastructure and military leadership.