A new popular uprising

Socialist solidarity with the workers of Iran

Start of the protests

The recent protests in Iran began on Sunday 28 December with a strike by traders in Tehran's bazaar, in response to the dramatic fall in the value of the national currency and hyperinflation, which have made economic activity unpredictable. They quickly spread to students and the working classes in many cities, expressing a general rejection of poverty, extreme social inequality and tyranny. 

The government's response

The government sought to appease the bazaar protesters with tax concessions, while closing down protesting universities and stepping up repression and security measures against the mobilised youth and working classes. But the movement continues, affecting at least 88 cities, particularly small and medium-sized ones, while some large cities are also experiencing mobilisations in certain neighbourhoods.  

On the ninth day of this mobilisation, more than a thousand people were arrested, including many teenagers, and at least thirty-six demonstrators, including two teenagers, were killed. Two members of the security forces also died. 

Deep social anger

Young people, particularly students, are at the heart of these protests, with significant participation from residents of disadvantaged small towns who have been hit hard by inflation, the fall in the value of the national currency and rising prices.

This mobilisation reflects deep and lasting social anger, stemming from decades of injustice, precariousness and repression, rather than a simple currency fluctuation. The worsening inequalities and poverty are the result of a structural crisis in Iran's political and economic system, exacerbated by international sanctions, governance marked by corruption and clientelism, and the policies pursued by the Islamic Republic.

The authorities have responded to these protests with repression, mass arrests and violence. However, the experience of the movements of 2017, 2019 and 2022 shows that this strategy has never succeeded in imposing lasting submission. The current protests are thus part of a continuum of recurring protests.

Attempts at manipulation and their consequences

The United States and Israel have attempted to manipulate these protests in the context of their conflict with the Islamic Republic, under the pretext of ‘defending the Iranian people’, despite their role in unprecedented violence against civilians in the region and beyond.

Finally, recent statements by American and Israeli leaders, as well as intelligence services, have provided the Islamic Republic with an additional pretext to intensify repression, justify arrests and accuse protesters of acting in the interests of foreign powers. 

At the same time, Reza Pahlavi, the ‘heir to the throne’, and his reactionary supporters, who favour foreign military intervention, have attempted to present themselves as a political alternative to ‘liberate’ Iran. They have even manipulated videos and falsified protest slogans in order to portray the son of the former Shah as a popular leader. These manoeuvres have discredited the monarchist movement and reinforced the rejection of the protesters, who reaffirm their refusal to accept any imposed guardianship or authority.

Prospects and Solidarity

As for the popular mobilisations, it is difficult to predict how long they will last or whether they will be able to force the government to back down, especially since they have not yet entered a structured political phase, despite radical slogans such as ‘death to the dictator’, and since no credible political alternative exists. This widespread anger can only be transformed into an effective force through the convergence of the general protest movement and struggles in workplaces, working-class neighbourhoods and universities.

However, Iran's youth and working classes deserve international support from social and political forces in solidarity with their struggles against the high cost of living, social injustice and tyranny. 

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Iran: the people face a regime in disarray

Iran is going through an unprecedented crisis. With its economy in ruins, deadly pollution, water and electricity shortages, and centuries-old forests destroyed, the country is on the brink of collapse. At the heart of this debacle is a weakened and corrupt Islamic regime, isolated on the international stage and incapable of meeting the basic needs of its people. 

Behind the official rhetoric, the regime relies on mafia networks that control the economy, the administration and natural resources. From oil to agriculture, real estate to energy, the elites embezzle billions to the detriment of the entire population. Every year, nearly $150 billion is swallowed up in unnecessary subsidies that benefit the mafia gangs that are the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran's regime, while education, health and social protection remain dramatically inadequate.

The consequences on daily life are staggering: cities paralysed by a lack of drinking water, unbreathable air that kills tens of thousands of people every year, devastating fires in the Hyrcanian forests, the disappearance of biodiversity... The environmental crisis is now a vital issue for the country.

But faced with this catastrophic management, Iranian society is not giving up. Women, young people, teachers, nurses, workers, pensioners and environmentalists are mobilising. Their actions, sometimes discreet but constant, show that the people are taking back the initiative. Popular movements are transcending the old political parties and building a collective, democratic and inclusive project based on equality and social justice. 

The Iranian social movement is demanding unconditional political freedoms, an end to all discrimination and universal social protection: free healthcare and education, social housing, unemployment insurance and support for the most vulnerable. These demands, which are now at the heart of the protests, aim to transform a devastated country into a just and sustainable society. 

Iran is at a historic turning point. The government is in crisis, but popular mobilisation is organising, gaining momentum and becoming an unavoidable political force. The future of the country now depends on those who bring it to life on a daily basis: the people themselves.