DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran protests surged into a fourth day as merchants, students and workers rallied in Tehran and other cities after the rial tumbled to record lows, adding urgency to a cost-of-living crisis that is testing President Masoud Pezeshkian’s young administration. Officials have acknowledged the anger is rooted in rapid currency depreciation and inflation, even as they promise dialogue and monetary reforms, Jan. 1, 2026.
The Iran protests began Sunday in Tehran’s mobile phone markets and quickly spread to the capital’s Grand Bazaar and other commercial districts, where shopkeepers shuttered storefronts and urged others to join, the Associated Press reported. Witnesses and semiofficial outlets described demonstrations in major cities including Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad, and police fired tear gas in parts of Tehran to disperse crowds.
Iran protests widen as the rial tumbles
By Tuesday, demonstrations had reached several universities, with state-linked media reporting student gatherings at four campuses in Tehran. Video verified by Reuters showed marchers chanting “Rest in peace Reza Shah,” a slogan that signals how quickly the Iran protests can shift from bread-and-butter grievances into wider political anger.
Authorities also reported the first security-force fatality of this wave: A 21-year-old Basij volunteer affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard was killed in Kouhdasht in western Lorestan province, while 13 other Basij members and police officers were wounded, the AP reported. Pezeshkian urged unity and blamed outside pressure for the turmoil, saying “the enemy has placed most of its hopes on knocking us down through economic pressure,” according to Al Jazeera.
Central bank shake-up, uncertain relief
At the center of the latest Iran protests is a collapsing currency. The rial lost nearly half its value against the U.S. dollar in 2025 and traded around 1.38 million to 1.45 million rials to $1 in recent days. Official data put annual inflation in December above 42%, with food prices up 72% and health and medical items up 50% from a year earlier.
In a bid to steady markets, Pezeshkian’s Cabinet appointed Abdolnasser Hemmati as central bank governor after Mohammad Reza Farzin resigned. Hemmati, a former economy minister dismissed by parliament in March 2025, is expected to focus on curbing inflation and strengthening the currency, the AP report on the appointment said. Pezeshkian has also ordered the interior minister to hear “legitimate demands,” and government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said authorities “officially recognise the protests” and “hear their voices,” Reuters reported.
Continuity with past unrest
Iranians have repeatedly taken to the streets when economic shocks collide with political frustration. During the 2019 gasoline price protests, Reuters reported the Revolutionary Guards warning of “decisive” action. In 2022, the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations and a crackdown that Reuters reported drew international condemnation.
Ahead of the Amini anniversary in 2023, Human Rights Watch warned that arrests and intimidation were being used to discourage public demonstrations — a backdrop that still shapes how many Iranians weigh the risks of joining the Iran protests.
For Pezeshkian, the immediate question is whether dialogue and a central-bank reset can cool Iran protests before they broaden — or whether a worsening rial crash and internal pressure push the country toward another prolonged confrontation.
