Verified footage from BBC Persian shows buildings engulfed in flames in Tehran as anti-government protests enter their 12th consecutive day, with internet services shut down across the country.
The unrest began in late December 2025, when shopkeepers and merchants in Tehran’s Alaeddin Shopping Mall, Charsou Centre and Grand Bazaar closed their businesses in protest against a collapsing currency, surging inflation and rising prices of essential goods.
Traders reported that the dramatic fall in the Iranian rial made pricing imported goods unsustainable, crippling trade and living standards.
By 30 December, demonstrations had spread beyond bazaar strikes to the streets of Tehran, with students and ordinary citizens joining rallies. What started as frustration over economic conditions quickly echoed political discontent, with some protest slogans criticising aspects of governance and calling for broader reforms.
Over the first week of January 2026, protests expanded to dozens of cities – including Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Qazvin, Rasht, Fasa and Kerman – transforming market strikes into widespread public unrest.
Reports from some regions documented clashes between demonstrators and security forces, use of tear gas and arrests.
By 8–9 January, the government’s attempts to blunt the movement included imposing a nationwide internet and phone blackout, reported by monitoring groups and global media.
This disruption severely curtailed communication and social media use nationwide, amid fears it could further inflame public frustration. International organisations saw this shutdown as indicative of the regime’s struggle to contain information and suppress coordination among protesters.
Voices from the Streets and the State
Protesters describe the movement as an honest outcry against economic despair. Bazaar merchants, whose livelihoods have been squeezed by a currency in freefall and plunging purchasing power, often voiced despair: “We cannot buy stock, customers are gone, and the rial’s volatility kills business.”
Such sentiments were captured in field reports from day-to-day demonstrations in Tehran’s market streets.
Across Iran, younger demonstrators and workers have joined market strikes, amplifying calls for social change. In several cities, chanting crowds shut down key commercial centres and took to main streets, at times confronting security forces.
Official reactions have been mixed. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, acknowledging economic distress, called on government bodies to heed “legitimate demands” and warned suppliers against hoarding or overpricing essential goods as part of subsidy reforms intended to benefit ordinary Iranians.
Iran’s judiciary and security leaders have in contrast issued stern statements threatening legal action against “rioters”, framing some protests as influenced by external forces and insisting on maintaining law and order. Conservative voices within the establishment have repeatedly emphasised that while peaceful protest is tolerated, disruption and violence will be met with force.
International reactions also shaped the narrative. Western leaders, including US officials, have criticised Tehran’s crackdown and called for respect for human rights, while insisting that political solutions and dialogue are essential.
Meanwhile, some Tehran-aligned media and officials suggest foreign media exaggerate unrest to undermine national stability.
Context: Iran’s Economic Crisis & Past Protests
Iran’s current crisis is rooted in long-term economic malaise, compounded by stringent international sanctions, mismanagement of subsidies, soaring inflation and an ongoing mismatch between wages and living costs.
A severe collapse in the rial’s value has pushed everyday essentials beyond the reach of many families. Reports indicate that inflation has impacted food, medicine and housing costs, contributing to deep insecurity among wider society.
This wave follows earlier unrest in 2025, including farmers’ protests over water rights and bakers’ demonstrations against rising utility and raw material costs. These earlier movements signalled deepening dissatisfaction with economic reforms and governance long before the latest bazaar strikes.
Compared to the 2022 nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, these 2025–2026 protests began with an economic trigger but have increasingly taken on political overtones, with many participants calling for economic justice, government accountability, and respect for civil rights.
The decision to cut off the internet and mobile communications represents a significant escalation in state efforts to manage dissent, raising concerns among rights groups about transparency, access to emergency services and individual freedoms.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The unfolding events in Iran reflect the powerful intersection of economic struggle and social aspiration. At the heart of these protests are people striving to secure not only better livelihoods but dignity and respect.
The Logical Indian recognises the legitimate grievances of ordinary Iranians facing hardship, and we echo the universal principle that peaceful expression and dialogue are essential in any democratic society.
We are concerned that severe responses – including forceful suppression and blanket communication blackouts – risk deepening cycles of distrust and division.
While economic reforms are difficult and must be managed carefully, without robust, transparent engagement between governments and citizens such measures can unintentionally exacerbate social unrest.
Iran’s citizens, from bazaar merchants to university students, are calling for economic stability, responsive governance, and a future defined by opportunity rather than desperation. Empathy, negotiation and institutional reforms – rooted in respect for human rights – offer a sounder path forward than coercion.
As Iran confronts these challenges, a critical question emerges for global observers and local actors alike:
