Iran closed out 2025 in a state of pronounced political fragility, capped by a wave of large-scale demonstrations that swept through Tehran and several other major cities. At its core, the unrest can be read as an existential eruption, born of a public despair that has been festering for nearly two decades under the long shadow of Iran’s theocratic ideology.

The current chapter began in late December 2025, a moment that should have invited year-end reflection but instead marked the rupture of collective anger across Iran’s urban centers. The immediate trigger appeared technical, yet its psychological impact was devastating, the Iranian rial plunged precipitously against the US dollar, reaching levels previously unimaginable in modern Iranian history.

Imagine a country where the price of a loaf of bread or a liter of milk can swing dramatically within the span of a single day, from breakfast to dinner. This volatility set off a chain reaction that began in the most conservative stronghold of Iran’s traditional economy, and historically one of the regime’s core bases of support, Tehran’s Grand Bazaar.

Market traders, long known as pillars of regime loyalty and as a social group traditionally cautious in political matters, suddenly opted for a mass strike, closing their shops in unison. This was not because they had overnight transformed into hardened dissidents, but because commerce itself had become impossible amid hyperinflation that annihilated both consumer purchasing power and merchant margins alike.

Within hours, what began as a relatively quiet market stoppage morphed into a massive street protest as cosmopolitan students and factory workers, already embittered by stagnant wages, joined the fray. Grievances that initially centered on daily economic survival quickly escalated into overt political demands that pierced the very heart of power in Tehran.

An Old Crisis, Played Louder Each Year

The deeper causes, however, are a familiar refrain, replayed year after year at an ever-increasing volume. Over the past three years alone, Iran has endured successive waves of public anger that differed in form but converged on the same point of exhaustion. The landmark “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement of 2022, sparked by the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, centered on women’s dignity and a longing for the most basic civil liberties.

In 2024,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)