A Cry for Dignity: Understanding Iran’s Citizen-led Protests

The 1979 Islamic Revolution radically transformed the identity of Iran as a modern nation-state, with the monarchy abolished and the Islamic Republic being formed. Several decades later, political life in Iran was characterised by periods of reform demands and state repression.

Illustration by The Geostrata

Popular upheavals like the Green Movement of 2009 and the Women, Life, Freedom resistance of 2022 have taken form when economic hardships and societal confinement came into conflict with the aspirations of the populace. The most recent wave of protests started at the end of 2025 and was precipitated by a small-scale economic crisis. During the same period, the Iranian Rial fell to historic lows, leading to higher inflation and a higher cost of living.

What began as an economic complaint, with shopkeepers and workers taking tothe streets, soon turned into a far bigger political protest. It has become the most sustained opposition to the Islamic Republic’s power since the 1979 revolution.

ORIGIN OF THE 2025 PROTESTS

When tens of thousands first took to the streets of Tehran, few could predict how deeply the unrest would shake the Islamic Republic. On 28 December 2025, the historic Grand Bazaar was struck out of the blue when the traders closed down their shops in the city as a response to the massively depreciating currency and soaring prices of food and other essential goods.

The protests soon expanded to other cities and provinces in Iran in the subsequent days, with representatives of different communities actively engaging. 

Although the initial grievances were of an economic nature, the protest soon acquired a more political direction. A majority of the Iranian people have raised historical issues relating to endemic corruption, political failures and expansion of authority by the unelected organisations. These issues summarise a long-term crisis that patronage networks and fiscal systems put the powerful beyond reproach and the common man faces the consequences of economic decline.  

With time, repeated gaps in governance in the forms of inflation and unemployment, and even ineffective policy responses, have affirmed the belief that substantive decision-making is still controlled within the framework and that this limits the possibility of reform.

WHAT ARE THE IRANIANS DEMANDING?

Sources such as the BBC depict that throughout Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and in other smaller cities, a huge number of people were chanting not just economic, but also a political anathema against the political order.

Many people, while interacting with the press, complained that the cost of ordinary foods had been multiplied manyfold, and another demonstrator wondered why the government had concerned itself with foreign policies in the region at the expense of the poor domestic situation.

It is these everyday challenges faced by ordinary citizens which the government has been ignoring, which has led to such large-scale protests. This economic desperation and political disenfranchisement spawned a movement that very soon cut across all social divides.

Demonstrations were growing daily, slogans like ‘Death to the Dictator’ reverberated in people's squares, as an indication of defiance to the most established representatives of government. Thousands demanded the recall of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran, who was living in exile.

This was not necessarily a demonstration of loyalty towards the monarchy, but a demand for an alternate leadership. The struggles made in the past were invoked numerous times by protesters demanding the right to personal freedoms and gender equality in political representation.

The 2025-26 protests have displayed a significantly leaderless and spontaneous nature, unlike the previous uprisings.

The sense of solidarity at the local levels has been impressive. Other communities in exile employed digital sources and media agencies to counter-narrate the state media, and opposition voices such as Pahlavi urged citizens to continue exerting pressure to change the system.

This large response and involvement of the diaspora was a statement towards the Iranians at home that their struggle was being felt well beyond their national boundaries. 

THE HUMAN COST OF THE STATE'S BRUTAL RESPONSE

The reaction of the Iranian state was violent and prompt. In early January 2026, the authorities restricted information flows in and out of the country, providing a close-to-total internet blackout. The blackout has been extensively viewed as a mechanism to keep the protest against the oppression hidden.

The security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij Militia, were deployed to disperse crowds using tear gas and live ammunition. Cases of mass arrests, massive injuries and deaths of demonstrators have been recorded. 

An estimated thousands of people have been killed, which was the highest death toll since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Even though the protests died down as the state came down heavily on its own citizens. However, because these individuals stood up to the injustice and made their voices heard across the world, the Government came under a lot of pressure not just within the country but also from the international community.   

CONCLUSION

The root causes behind the protests are yet to be addressed. The protests demonstrated a deep-seated crisis of legitimacy between the Iranian government and major parts of the community. What started as a call against inflation and currency disintegration became a larger expression of the need for accountability, dignity, and participation in politics in a meaningful manner. 

Going forward, the stability in Iran cannot be based on coercion or control of information alone. The way forward would entail real reforms, a more open governing system, economic reform to focus on the needs of the citizens, and institutions that enable an elected government to enjoy power in a meaningful way.

Opening a platform of communication, ensuring civil liberties and combating corruption by establishing responsible legal systems can go towards restoring confidence among the people. Lack of such actions means that the cycles of protest and repression are bound to continue.

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BY SIYA KAD

TEAM GEOSTRATA

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