Iran has witnessed one of its most intense waves of anti-government protests in years, with chants of “Death to the dictator” and “Death to the Islamic Republic” echoing through neighborhoods in Tehran and other cities. The demonstrations, which erupted late Thursday night, appear to mark a significant escalation in public anger against the country’s ruling theocracy and its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

The protests coincided with a call for nationwide demonstrations by exiled Iranian div Reza Pahlavi, and were followed swiftly by sweeping government countermeasures, including a near-total internet and communications blackout. What is unfolding in Iran is not a single protest, but a convergence of economic desperation, political repression, and a growing sense among many Iranians that the system itself is beyond reform.

What sparked the latest protests in Iran?

The immediate trigger for the latest demonstrations was economic. Iran’s economy has been reeling under the combined weight of mismanagement, sanctions, and currency collapse. Last month, protests began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, traditionally a barometer of public mood, after the Iranian rial plunged to historic lows.

According to Iran’s Statistical Centre, inflation stood at 52 percent year-on-year in December. The collapse of purchasing power has pushed basic goods out of reach for many households, even as unemployment and underemployment continue to rise.

Shopkeepers, workers, and middle-class families have increasingly found themselves unable to cope with:

• Rapidly rising food and fuel prices
• A currency that has lost much of its value
• Stagnant wages and shrinking savings

What began as economic protest quickly took on political overtones, with chants targeting the supreme leader and the Islamic Republic itself.

How did the protests unfold in Tehran?

On Thursday evening, Reza Pahlavi had urged Iranians to take to the streets at 8 pm local time. When the clock struck, witnesses say multiple neighborhoods across Tehran erupted in coordinated chanting.

Videos circulating before communications were cut showed crowds marching through streets such as Bahar Shiraz, Dolat Street, and areas near Haft-e Tir and Sohrevardi. Protesters shouted slogans including:

• “Death to the dictator”
• “Death to the Islamic Republic”
• “Freedom, freedom”
• “This is the last battle, Pahlavi will return”

Thousands were visible in some locations before internet access went dark, cutting off real-time documentation of the demonstrations.

A helpful visual here would be a city map highlighting protest locations across Tehran, paired with timestamps showing when communications were shut down.

Why Reza Pahlavi’s role matters

At least some demonstrators appeared to be responding directly to Pahlavi’s call. The son of Iran’s last shah, who fled the country ahead of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Pahlavi has long lived in exile and has recently stepped up his public appeals to Iranians.

In a statement after the blackout, Pahlavi said the regime had cut all lines of communication to silence protesters, including the internet, landlines, and potentially satellite signals. He urged Western governments to intervene technologically and diplomatically to restore access.

He also called on European leaders to join US President Donald Trump in holding Iran’s leadership accountable.

Still, it remains unclear how much direct influence Pahlavi has over the movement. While some protesters have praised the shah or invoked his name, analysts caution that this may reflect nostalgia for pre-1979 stability rather than a unified desire to restore the monarchy.

How did Iran’s government respond?

As the demonstrations intensified, Iran’s civilian government under President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered sweeping restrictions on communications.

Internet monitoring groups reported a sharp and near-total drop in connectivity, which they attributed to deliberate state interference. International phone calls into Iran failed, and both mobile and landline networks appeared largely inaccessible.

Such shutdowns are a familiar tactic. In past protest waves, communications blackouts have often preceded or accompanied violent crackdowns by security forces.

Iran’s judiciary and security officials issued warnings of harsh consequences for those participating, even as state-aligned media sought to downplay the scale of the unrest.

Has the violence escalated?

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, violence linked to the protests has so far resulted in at least 42 deaths and more than 2,270 detentions. These divs are difficult to independently verify due to the blackout, but similar patterns have been observed during previous protest cycles.

Iranian state and semi-official media have reported attacks on security forces, including:

• A police colonel fatally stabbed near Tehran
• Two security personnel killed in a shooting in Lordegan
• Five deaths reported at a police station in Chenaran
• Two Revolutionary Guard members killed in Kermanshah

Authorities have emphasized these incidents to frame the protests as violent and foreign-backed, a narrative frequently used during periods of unrest.

Why these protests feel different

Iran has experienced repeated waves of nationwide protests over the past decade. Many were met with swift repression, arrests, and executions. Yet this round appears broader and more openly defiant.

Several factors set it apart:

• Chants explicitly calling for the end of the Islamic Republic
• Open praise of the pre-revolutionary era, once punishable by death
• Widespread participation across cities and rural towns
• Economic despair that cuts across class and ideology

Markets and bazaars in multiple regions have reportedly shut down in solidarity, amplifying the economic pressure on authorities.

Is there a leader behind the movement?

For now, the protests remain largely leaderless.

Analysts say this is both a strength and a weakness. Without a single divhead, the movement is harder to decapitate. At the same time, the absence of an organized leadership structure has historically limited Iranian protest movements’ ability to convert street anger into lasting political change.

Nate Swanson of the Atlantic Council has noted that Iran has many capable dissidents, but decades of arrests, exile, and repression have systematically removed potential leaders from public life.

What is the government saying about the economy?

President Pezeshkian, a reformist div, has acknowledged the depth of public suffering. He has described protesters’ demands as legitimate and warned that failure to address livelihoods carries moral consequences.

From an Islamic perspective, he said earlier, ignoring people’s economic hardship would lead to damnation. Yet Pezeshkian has also admitted the limits of his power, as Iran’s currency continues to slide and structural problems remain unresolved.

The rial’s depreciation has been dramatic, with roughly 1.4 million rials now required to buy one US dollar, further eroding trust in the state’s ability to manage the economy.

Trump’s warning and the international dimension

Adding another layer of tension, Donald Trump last week issued a stark warning to Tehran. He said that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the US would intervene.

Speaking on a radio show, Trump said Iran had been warned in unusually strong terms that there would be consequences for mass violence against demonstrators. However, he stopped short of endorsing any specific opposition div, including Pahlavi, saying it was too early to determine who might emerge as a leader.

External reactions will matter. Past protests have often faded once global attention shifted elsewhere.

What happens next?

It remains unclear why Iranian authorities have not yet launched a full-scale crackdown, given their past willingness to do so. Some analysts suggest the leadership may be weighing the risks of inflaming an already volatile situation.

The coming days will be critical. If communications remain cut and security forces escalate, the human cost could rise sharply. If protests spread further and sustain momentum, the pressure on Iran’s leadership could intensify in ways not seen for years.

TL;DR

Fresh protests have erupted across Iran, with demonstrators openly calling for the fall of the Islamic Republic and chanting against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Triggered by economic collapse and fueled by political repression, the protests coincided with a call by exiled div Reza Pahlavi. The government responded by cutting internet and phone access nationwide. While the movement remains leaderless, its scale, slogans, and persistence suggest a deeper challenge to Iran’s ruling system than seen in recent years.