Over the past week, Iran has seen a new wave of protests. It all started economically on December 28, 2025, in Tehran, Iran’s capital, when local merchants protested after another sharp drop of the Iranian currency (the rial). This time, however, it reached its lowest value in history: inflation has risen to 40%. Iran’s worsening economic situation is due to both corruption and sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program.
Students soon joined, and the demonstrations turned political, with slogans targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. While Iran has a president, his role is purely ceremonial. The real power lies with the Supreme Leader – a position created after the 1979 revolution, when Iran became an Islamic state. Only two men have held this lifelong role: Ruhollah Khomeini and the current leader, Ali Khamenei, who has ruled for 36 years and is now facing protests
The protests in Iran are the largest protests since 2022, with over 550 people killed and 20,000 detained after the death of Mahsa Amini. But let’s start from the beginning…
How did Iran get here?
Although Russia and Britain always tried to get Iran under their influence, Iran maintained its independence for a long time. Until World War II, when it sided with Germany. Fearing this alliance, Britain and the USSR invaded, removed the Shah, and installed his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Unlike his father, the new Shah was not afraid to open the country to foreign – mainly Western – influences.
But the Iranian people were a bit more skeptical of his open foreign policy. In 1951, they democratically elected Mohammad Mossadegh as prime minister. Mossadegh nationalized Iran’s oil industry, controlled by the British at that time. This upset the British, so they convinced the US that Mossadegh’s rule would inevitably lead to a communist coup and that Iran would side with the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
In 1953, the American and British secret services orchestrated a coup, overthrowing Mossadegh. Initially, Mohammad Reza was against it, but he quickly realized that with such an attitude, the British and Americans wouldn’t let him stay in power for long, so eventually, he joined the coup.
Because of that, the Iranians started to consider him a coward. To prove to them (and to himself) that he was not, he began to implement various socio-economic reforms. His goal? To turn Iran into a modern, Western-style superpower. He redistributed land from large landowners to small farmers, built dams and power plants, fighted illiteracy, and gave women the right to vote… And, to REALLY show that he was no coward, he became more autocratic. He even established a secret police, SAVAK, that brutally suppressed any opposition to him.
Mohammad Reza’s style of government inevitably led to increased US influence in Iran – at least economically. Concerning security, the Americans were not so eager to guarantee military help to Iran in case of an attack by the USSR. But if the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad will go to the mountain. In this case, Mohammad Reza began negotiations with the Soviet Union about a non-aggression pact.
Of course, the American president didn’t like that, so he convinced Mohammad to back down from these negotiations – which in turn angered the Soviet Union, who began supporting Mohammad Reza’s opponents.
Iran Islamic revolution in 1979
And he had quite a few opponents:
- The rural poor, ignored by his reforms
- Those exhausted by his authoritarianism
- Religious circles, including Ruhollah Khomeini, who didn’t like his overly secular style of governance
Ruhollah Khomeini, a Shia cleric, became the loudest critic of Mohammad Reza’s rule – not only in religious circles – he managed to appeal to a wide spectrum of dissatisfied people.
What’s the difference between Shia and Sunni Islam?
Simply put, the two groups differ over who they recognize as Muhammad’s rightful successor. Shia Muslims (the majority in Iran) believe leadership should be hereditary, passing to Muhammad’s descendants. Sunni Muslims (the majority globally) argue that the leader should be elected.
The Revolution
Anti-government protests began in October 1977 and gradually intensified, escalating in the spring of 1979, when Mohammad Reza fled into exile and Khomeini took over the government. Shortly after, he held a referendum on whether Iran “should become an Islamic Republic or not”. According to official results, 99% of people voted “yes,” and the turnout was 99%.
Mohammad Reza was indeed unpopular, but the fact that the elections were held publicly and that the ballots were color-coded (green for yes, red for no) certainly played some role in this result. At the same time, the question “Islamic Republic: yes or no” is quite vague. Even today, in the age of the internet, it’s hard to understand what you’re signing up for – let alone in the 70s as someone living in extreme poverty… Many, focused on survival, didn’t grasp the implications until later – when it was too late.
Life Under Sharia Law
Since the revolution, Iran’s legal and political system has been strictly based on so-called Sharia law. Sharia law is not some uniformly codified law written in black and white somewhere. It’s more like different interpretations of how people should live according to the Quran (in the case of Iran, this interpretation is led by the Supreme Leader). This is a deeply problematic system because everyone can interpret the Quran basically however they want, since Islam does not have any central authority, like the Pope, to which they would be accountable. Iran is living proof of that.
What exactly does living in accordance with the Quran mean according to its Supreme Leaders?
For example:
- Women must cover their hair and body in public. And there’s a “morality police” watching over it. Violations can result in fines, arrest, or “re-education” classes.
- Public spaces, universities, and even some workplaces enforce gender segregation. In the past, men were prohibited from studying gynecology, and currently, there is still pressure to prevent women from being treated by male doctors.
- Women need permission from a male guardian (father or husband) for various life decisions, like taking on a job, traveling, or undergoing certain medical procedures.
- Same-sex relations are punishable by imprisonment, flogging, or even death.
- Criticizing Islam or the regime can be punishable by long prison sentences or execution.
- Men can have up to four wives and can divorce unilaterally, while women can have only one husband and can divorce only in limited cases (like a husband’s addiction, imprisonment, or refusal to support the family financially). After divorce, women have limited custody rights over their children.
- There is no minimum age for marriage, meaning child marriage is legally authorized.
- …
Sanctions on Iran
Frankly, it’s primarily women who are negatively affected. But they are not the only ones with a reason to protest: Since the revolution, Iran has been regularly subject to sanctions – mainly from the United Nations, US, UK, and EU, primarily because of its nuclear program (on which Iran cooperates with China and Russia). Sanctions have led to an increasingly deteriorating economic situation, affecting everyone.
There have been several big protests in Iran’s history:
- 1999 Student protests against the violation of free speech (brutally suppressed)
- 2009 Green Movement protests against the suspected rigged elections
- 2011/12 Arab Spring protests against the government
- 2018/19 economic protests
- 2022 feminist uprising following the death of Mahsa Amini
Unfortunately for Iranians, each wave of protest has been met with brutal repression. Which is happening now too. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, 500 people were killed and over 10,000 detained in the protests. The government also shut down the internet and the ability to call abroad to prevent Iranians from spreading news about the regime’s atrocities.
Why should we care?
Because nowadays, many people try to convince us that women are fully equal and that there is no longer any need to fight for their rights. Well, it depends where… In a country like Iran, it is clearly still necessary.
Because this could quickly escalate into a global conflict: In light of the recent US attack on Venezuela, there is speculation about a possible American intervention, which could be supported by Israel. After all, Israel already attacked Iran in June 2025, which resulted in 1190 killed and 4475 injured.