Could Trump pull a Venezuela on Iran? |
For Komeil Soheili, an Iranian filmmaker, the latest protests in the Islamic Republic did not come as a surprise.
“People are exhausted after the 12-day war with Israel,” he said over the phone. “It’s the uncertainty. You can’t even plan for the near future because things keep changing.”
Iran is buckling under mounting economic pressure. Inflation has exceeded 36 per cent since March. The rial has lost roughly half its value, trading at around 1,390,000 to the US dollar. Sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear programme have returned, utilities remain strained, and global financial bodies are forecasting a recession in 2026.
Iran’s most significant protests since 2022 erupted around two weeks ago among traders and shopkeepers in downtown Tehran, triggered by the rapid collapse of the rial, which has driven up prices and left traders unable to restock goods.
Isolated market shutdowns in Tehran’s commercial districts quickly escalated into street demonstrations, drawing in wider sections of the public and prompting security deployments. Like falling dominoes, the unrest spread to other cities, claiming dozens of lives, according to rights groups.
Last week, major Iranian cities were gripped overnight by new mass rallies denouncing the Islamic Republic, as activists expressed fear that authorities were intensifying their suppression of the demonstrations under the cover of an internet blackout.
The crackdown follows what was initially a relatively soft response, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian calling for a kind and responsible” approach, acknowledging public frustration. The government had also announced cash handouts to ease economic woes.
The regime appears to have shifted its tone since, accusing the US and Israel of orchestrating the protests. “The enemy has infiltrated trained terrorists into the country. Rioters and saboteurs........