Iranians are protesting primarily because of a deep economic crisis that has widened into anger at corruption, political repression, and the overall ruling system. The current unrest is among the largest anti‑government demonstrations since the 1979 revolution.

Main reasons for the protests

  • Economic collapse and inflation
    • Record‑high inflation, steep rises in food prices, and a sharply weakened currency have badly hit ordinary people and small businesses.
* Sudden spikes in the cost of basics like cooking oil and chicken, alongside subsidy and currency policy changes, triggered the first marketplace demonstrations.
  • Corruption and mismanagement
    • Many protesters blame entrenched corruption and opaque governance for the crisis rather than external sanctions alone.
* There is growing resentment that political and security elites appear shielded from hardship while ordinary citizens struggle.

From economic anger to political demands

  • Shift from prices to power
    • What began as protests over living costs has evolved into calls for major political change, including slogans against the Supreme Leader and the entire Islamic Republic system.
* Human rights groups report demands that now mix economic justice with freedom, accountability, and fair elections.
  • Echoes of earlier movements
    • The current wave builds on years of discontent seen in previous protests (for example in 2019–2020 and the Mahsa Amini protests), where people challenged mandatory hijab rules, repression, and lack of civil liberties.
* Each cycle has left “accumulated, multilayered grievances” that resurface when new crises erupt.

Who is protesting in Iran?

  • Bazaar merchants and workers
    • Shopkeepers and merchants in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar were among the first to walk out or shut shops, a major shift because this group historically formed part of the regime’s social base.
* Their participation signals that even once‑loyal economic actors feel abandoned by current policies.
  • Students, women, and Gen Z
    • University students and young people have organized many street rallies and campus actions, often using anti‑regime and pro‑freedom slogans.
* Women’s rights activists remain highly visible, linking economic hardship with long‑standing demands over bodily autonomy and legal equality.
  • Ethnic minorities and poorer regions
    • Protests have spread into Kurdish, Arab, and other minority regions where unemployment and discrimination are long‑running issues.
* In these areas, economic and ethnic grievances frequently overlap, intensifying anger at the central government.

How the authorities are responding

  • Security crackdown
    • Security forces have used arrests and, in some cases, live ammunition against demonstrators, including students and pensioners.
* Human rights monitors have recorded multiple deaths since the protests began and warn of escalating violence.
  • Information control and shutdowns
    • Authorities have repeatedly restricted or cut off internet and mobile access nationwide to disrupt organizing and limit the flow of videos and reports.
* Officials frame the unrest as a foreign‑backed plot by countries such as the United States and Israel, trying to delegitimize domestic grievances.

Bigger picture: why this moment matters

  • Crisis of legitimacy
    • The fact that protests now involve bazaar merchants, students, women, and multiple regions suggests dissatisfaction has spread far beyond traditional opposition circles.
* Many demonstrators openly call for a post‑Islamic‑Republic future, indicating a challenge not just to specific policies but to the system itself.
  • Uncertain trajectory
    • Some analysts compare the scale of unrest to 2009 or even 1979, but stress that the movement is still largely leaderless and faces a powerful security apparatus.
* Exiled opposition figures, including Reza Pahlavi, have tried to encourage and shape the protests, but it remains unclear whether the street mobilization can translate into organized political change.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.