Iran protests: 1.4 million rials to a dollar, internet blockade or Trump warning? What’s fueling the anger among Iranians

Thousands of merchants, shop owners and students across Iran have taken to the streets in widespread protests that have turned deadly in several provinces. The unrest, driven by a sharp economic downturn, has led to clashes with security forces, shutdowns of markets and bazaars, and sweeping internet and phone blackouts, according to Iranian media and rights groups. What began as scattered protests over rising prices and a crashing currency has now spread across all 31 provinces, becoming Iran’s biggest wave of unrest in the past three years and putting fresh pressure on the country’s clerical leadership.

What are the Iranian protests about? Why are thousands marching on street

The protests were triggered by the collapse of Iran’s rial, which has plunged to more than 1.4 million to the dollar. Inflation has crossed 40%, pushing up prices of basic food items such as meat and rice.
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In December, Iran introduced a new pricing tier for subsidised gasoline, raising fuel costs. The government also began reviewing prices every three months, signalling possible future hikes. Food prices are expected to rise further after the central bank ended a subsidised exchange rate for most imports.

The unrest first broke out in late December when merchants in Tehran protested economic mismanagement. Students and traders soon joined in, and chants quickly shifted from economic demands to anti-government slogans. Long-standing anger, particularly after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, has continued to simmer.

Iranian markets shut, daily life disrupted

As protests gathered pace, merchants closed shops, students demonstrated on university campuses and major markets in several cities went dark. On Wednesday, the government declared a nationwide holiday due to cold weather, effectively slowing much of the country.
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Despite arrests and a strong security presence, demonstrations were reported in multiple provinces, including Fars, Kermanshah, Khuzestan and Hamedan.

Iran Still Reeling from Last Year’s Israel Stike

The unrest comes at a difficult moment for Iran’s rulers. The economy has been battered by Western sanctions, reimposed by the United Nations in September over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran is also still reeling from a 12-day war launched by Israel in June, during which the United States bombed Iranian nuclear sites. At the same time, Iran’s regional network known as the “Axis of Resistance” has weakened since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, with setbacks suffered by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the fall of Syria’s Bashar Assad.

Trump warning adds to tensions

US President Donald Trump has issued a warning to Tehran, saying Washington would act if Iranian authorities crack down violently on protesters.

“We’re watching it very closely,” Trump said Sunday. “If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States.”

Also Read: Chilling video from Iran: Woman bleeds from mouth, says she ‘has been dead for 47 years’ as anti-government protests explode

The remarks have taken on added weight following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a longtime ally of Tehran, by American troops.

Nuclear worries

Western countries continue to raise concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme. Although Iran insists its programme is peaceful, it had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels before the June attacks.

Iran has reduced cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in recent years. The IAEA has warned that Iran could build multiple nuclear bombs if it chose to do so, while US intelligence agencies say Tehran has not yet decided to build a weapon but has taken steps that could allow it to do so.

Iran recently said it had stopped enriching uranium at all sites, signalling openness to talks, but no major negotiations have followed.

A long history of US-Iran tensions

Iran was once a close US ally under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, before mass protests forced him to flee in January 1979. The Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini soon followed, reshaping the country’s political system.

Relations collapsed later that year after the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran and the 444-day hostage crisis. Since then, ties between Iran and the US have swung between confrontation and limited diplomacy, peaking with the 2015 nuclear deal before tensions surged again after Washington withdrew from the agreement in 2018.

Protests show no sign of fading

Iran has repeatedly crushed protests in recent years over prices, water shortages, women’s rights and political freedoms. This time, however, the scale of economic pain is widespread.

The rial lost about half its value in 2025, inflation stood at 42.5% in December, and many Iranians say daily life has become unaffordable, conditions that continue to fuel protests across the country.

Iran protests spread nationwide, communications cut

Protests linked to Iran’s ailing economy have erupted across cities and rural areas, with authorities shutting down internet and telephone networks as demonstrations grew. Rights groups say the blackout has made it difficult to assess the full scale of the unrest.

Iranian state media has released limited information, while online videos provide only brief glimpses of crowds, chants and gunfire. Journalists inside Iran face restrictions on travel and reporting, adding to the lack of clarity.

Despite the heavy security response, protests have continued even after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that “rioters must be put in their place.”

Iran death toll rises amid clashes

More than 390 protests have taken place nationwide, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported, adding that at least 42 people have been killed and over 2,270 arrested.

Violence flared in western Iran as demonstrations intensified. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that three protesters were killed and 17 injured during an attack on a police station in Lorestan province.

“The rioters entered the police headquarters around 1800 (local time) on Thursday … they clashed ‌with police forces and set ‌fire to several police cars,” Fars reported.

Deaths were also reported in Lordegan city in Charmahal and Bakhtiari province, the western city of Kuhdasht, and Isfahan in central Iran. Conflicting accounts have emerged, with rights group Hengaw and Iranian authorities offering different versions of events. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims.