New Year, New Era? Iran Erupts Over Currency Collapse

Has the Islamist revolution finally begun its inevitable collapse in Iran? The Iranian currency has, and the economic crisis that has created has also touched off street protests, official crackdowns, and the resignation of at least one significant regime official. 

First, though, the news of unrest from Iran may come as a surprise for readers and viewers of the Protection Racket Media. The front pages of the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal remain strangely disinterested in a potential popular uprising against a regime that has considered itself at war with the United States for nearly 47 years. Fox News has taken more notice, however:

More footage of protests and strikes in Tehran’s bazaars for the third day. Rallies continue despite heavy presence of the regime’s repressive security forces.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/MIFqOPW7kF

— People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 30, 2025

Protests escalated across Iran on Monday as demonstrators confronted security forces in Tehran and Mashhad, with authorities deploying tear gas amid strikes and street clashes, according to reports.

An Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, reported that a large crowd of demonstrators marched along Jomhouri (Republic) Street before moving into nearby areas, including Naser Khosrow Street and Istanbul Square in Tehran.

Central parts of Tehran turned into flashpoints as protesters and regime security forces engaged in running street clashes near major government and commercial areas.

The foreign press has paid closer attention to the clashes, too. The catalyst for this unrest is the collapse of the Iranian rial against the dollar and an inflation rate that has now reached 42%. Both have wiped out whatever savings Iranians have managed to scrape together, creating economic chaos that has uncorked long-simmering hatred for the Islamist regime. France’s i24 News reports that the protests have turned violent and are developing momentum:

Protests erupted across Iran again on Tuesday as demonstrators took to the streets for a third consecutive day to denounce soaring inflation, rising prices, and worsening living conditions.

Participants urged others to join what they described as a nationwide uprising, calling on shop owners to shut down their businesses in protest. 

Tehran’s Grand Bazaar remained closed, with merchants keeping their shops shuttered in a rare show of economic dissent.

The demonstrations have expanded beyond the capital, with protests reported in cities including Kermanshah. In some locations, crowds were heard chanting slogans calling for the return of the Pahlavi dynasty, which ruled Iran prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The crisis forced the regime to make its first lineup change as a sop to the angry demonstrators, i24 News reported earlier today:

Deustche Welle has some brief video of the protests, while noting that the scale of the unrest is the worst in three years. Their report makes it clear that the currency collapse and inflation are merely catalysts for general anger toward the regime, including over its foreign policy as well as oppression at home:

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), mentioned above, has kept a close eye on the protests and the expanding reach of the unrest. Their Twitter feed has curated a number of videos from the streets via their allies, as well as provided more context for the political impact of the new wave of resistance to the regime:

December 30—Tehran, Iran
Merchants in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar (jewelers’ market and Saboun-Nia bazaar in Shush, Saray-e Melli) mark third day of mass strikes in protest to deteriorating economic conditions, depreciating national currency, rampant inflation, high costs, etc.… pic.twitter.com/lOCskj68C4

— People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 30, 2025

More footage of protests and strikes in Tehran’s bazaars for the third day. Rallies continue despite heavy presence of the regime’s repressive security forces.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/MIFqOPW7kF

— People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 30, 2025

NCRI president-elect Maryam Rajavi hailed the protests and called for solidarity yesterday to force the regime into surrender and collapse. Their statements was provided to Hot Air from NCRI on a non-exclusive basis:

Through their slogans, the protesters have pointed both to the root of the problem—the vile system of religious dictatorship—and to the solution, namely resistance and uprising. I call on the general public, especially militant and rebellious youth, to show solidarity with and support the protesters. …

“This year is the year of overthrowing Seyyed Ali,” “Death to the dictator,” “Pezeshkian, have some shame—leave the country alone,” and “The merchant may die, but will not accept humiliation,” the protesters have identified both the root of the problem—the vile system of religious dictatorship—and the solution, namely resistance and uprising. This reflects the anger of a people whose patience has been exhausted by high prices, poverty, and the suppression of freedoms under clerical rule, and who are no longer willing to remain silent. 

The regime in Tehran has already taken notice. The state-run Fars News Agency, run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), called Rajavi a “terrorist” and an enemy:

At the same time as these gatherings, Maryam Rajavi, described as the leader of the terrorist group Monafeqin (the regime’s pejorative to describe the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, PMOI/MEK) called on Twitter for the “formation of a chain of protests.”

… An informed official at the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) told Fars: “The pattern of small cells (i.e. Resistance Units affiliated with the People’s Mojahedin Organization) appearing in trade-guild gatherings to steer them in a radical direction is exactly in line with the enemy’s de-securitization scenario. The goal is to turn economic criticism into political instability.”

Another state-run news service, Mizan, called Rajavi its worst epithet – “Zionist”:

However, as in past experiences, counter-revolutionary groups operating abroad have immediately attempted to ride this wave.

Maryam Rajavi, described as the leader of the terrorist group Monafeqin (the regime’s disparaging term to describe the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran or the PMOI /MEK), along with the media arms of the Zionist enemy and other counter-revolutionary groups, are seeking to create a tense and volatile atmosphere.

The vigilant people of Iran must be careful that the legitimate demands of trade guilds, arising from economic pressures, are not turned into a tool for exploitation by enemies.

At the same time, officials must adopt serious and effective measures to address the economic demands of trade guilds. Simultaneously, transparent and continuous clarification of the government’s programs aimed at improving the country’s economic conditions, creating sustainable market stability, and reducing volatility must be placed firmly on the agenda.

That sounds as though the regime is hoping to spin this down to simple incompetence on economic policy. That would explain the resignation of the central bank chief today, used to offer the angry demonstrators a scapegoat and a way to limit the damage to regime credibility. That will likely be too little too late, given the uprisings over the last two decades against a regime that has only become more oppressive and less competent over the same period of time. Their abject humiliation in the Twelve Day War and the elimination of their nuclear-arms deterrent has changed the game considerably in terms of the ability to leverage force on the streets, plus the unfolding water catastrophe in Tehran is destabilizing all on its own. The combination of collapses and failures in basic services may finally have the regime ready to crumble, if the people of Iran continue to rise up and demand their liberty from 7th-century fanatics.

If so, the timing will certainly generate plenty of debate. Money Control wonders whether a free Iran may owe a debt to the new Trump administration in the long run:

The unrest poses a major challenge for Iran’s leadership, which is already under pressure after Israeli and US strikes on nuclear-linked facilities and renewed economic sanctions. The situation has raised a larger question in diplomatic circles. Is this simply domestic anger boiling over, or has years of US pressure finally turned into political leverage? …

Responding to a post by US Ambassador Mike Waltz backing the protests, Iranian-origin Canadian politician Goldie Ghamari asked on X, “Did the United States just give the green light for regime change in occupied Iran? This is huge ”.

What is unfolding on Iran’s streets appears to be the result of long-simmering failures catching up with the theocratic system. US sanctions and military pressure may have tightened the screws, but the unrest itself reflects public exhaustion with clerical rule. Whether or not Washington intended this moment, Iran’s leadership is now facing one of the most serious tests of its authority in years.

Let’s free the people of Iran first, then ensure what follows is a democratic republic that can be sustained and poses no threat to its neighbors. At that point, we can start dividing up the credit, but it has to start with the long-beleaguered Iranian people who have bled for freedom for almost 50 years. 

Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.

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