Iran is witnessing mass protests over the country\u2019s plummeting national currency and economic crisis. Demonstrators took to the streets on December 28 and 29, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian calling on his government to listen to protesters\u2019 \u201clegitimate demands\u201d.<\/p>\n
The protests that spread across Iran have increased pressure on the government. Amid the turmoil, the head of Iran\u2019s central bank has reportedly resigned.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n
Protests erupt in Iran<\/p>\n
On Sunday, traders shut their shops near two major tech and mobile phone shopping centres in Tehran\u2019s Jomhouri area. Protests were also reported around the capital\u2019s main Grand Bazaar, with demonstrators chanting anti-government slogans.<\/p>\n
Further protests took place on Monday. As per Associated Press (AP), traders and shopkeepers marched in Saadi Street in downtown Tehran as well as in the Shush neighbourhood near the capital\u2019s main Grand Bazaar.<\/p>\n
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Footage on social media showed demonstrators chanting: \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid, we are together.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a video, protesters can be heard chanting \u201cazadi,\u201d the Farsi word for freedom.<\/p>\n
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Tehran. Witnesses told AP that shopkeepers closed their businesses on Monday and asked others to do the same. The semiofficial ILNA news agency reported that many businesses stopped trading, but some shops remained open.<\/p>\n
Shopkeepers and traders protest in the street against the economic conditions and Iran\u2019s embattled currency in Tehran on December 29, 2025. Fars News Agency via AFP<\/b><\/p>\n
Similar rallies were reported in other major cities, including Isfahan in central Demonstrations also occurred in the Yaftabad district in west Tehran.<\/p>\n In Qeshm Island, on Iran\u2019s Persian Gulf coast, chants of \u201cdeath to the dictator\u201d were heard at night as motorists honked in support, Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing verified footage.<\/p>\n In western Iran\u2019s Hamedan, protesters called for the return of the Pahlavi dynasty, which ruled Iran before being toppled by the Islamic revolution in 1979.<\/p>\n Iran last saw mass protests in 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini in police custody triggered widespread demonstrations. Amini was arrested by Iran\u2019s morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADWhy is Iran facing economic crisis?<\/p>\n Protests in Iran come as the country is grappling with severe inflation and the collapse of the national currency.<\/p>\n According to the state statistics centre, inflation touched 42.2 per cent in December, up 1.8 percentage points from November.<\/p>\n Food prices rose 72 per cent, and health and medical items surged 50 per cent from December last year.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s economic woes compounded as its currency declined to a record low this past weekend against the US dollar.<\/p>\n The US dollar traded at around 1.42 million rials on Sunday on the unofficial market, compared to 820,000 rials a year ago. On Monday, Iran\u2019s rial traded at 1.38 million to the dollar.<\/p>\n As per Iran\u2019s main state news agency IRNA, mobile phone vendors were upset as their businesses were under threat due to the unchecked depreciation of the rial.<\/p>\n It confirmed on Monday that protesters had chanted slogans condemning Iran\u2019s plunging exchange rate at Tehran\u2019s bazaar, forcing merchants to stop trading.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some sectors, the level of trade activity was reduced to a minimum, and many units preferred to refrain from conducting transactions to avoid potential losses,\u201d IRNA said.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n The collapse of the currency has hit ordinary Iranians hard as it undermines their savings and raises costs.<\/p>\n Iranians can no longer afford to invite friends over anxiety about their salaries. Speaking to New York Times (NYT), Mariam, a 41-year-old bank employee in Tehran whose salary now only covers two-thirds of her monthly expenses, said she hardly dined out and tried not to buy meat or invite guests over for meals.<\/p>\n \u201cThings have gotten so expensive that over the past few days when I had guests, I was constantly crunching numbers to ensure I wouldn\u2019t run out of money before the end of the month,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n On Monday, Iranian Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said that \u201canyone who engages in hoarding (foreign currency) is a criminal and must be dealt with firmly.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s currency has been dropping rapidly over recent weeks as the United States and its Western allies have increased sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD<\/p>\n Concerns over another conflict with Israel after the 12-day war earlier this year also loom large in Iran.<\/p>\n
\nIran<\/a>, Shiraz in the south and Mashhad in the northeast.<\/p>\nPeople shop for fresh products at Tajrish Bazaar in Iran\u2019s capital Tehran on December 29, 2025. AFP<\/b><\/p>\n