Iran

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called anti-government protesters “troublemakers” and “a bunch of vandals” just trying “to please the president of the US”.

He accused crowds of destroying buildings because Donald Trump said he “supports you”. Trump has warned Iran that if it kills protesters, the US would “hit” the country “very hard”.

The protests, in their 13th day, erupted over the economy and have grown into the largest in years – leading to calls for an end to the Islamic Republic and some urging the restoration of the monarchy.

The #Iranian people are burning down the institutions of the Islamic Republic and mosques in Iran. We not only want the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, but even the overthrow of Islam in #Iran.@FoxNews @CNN pic.twitter.com/EAROZe7gxt

— Arash Hampay (@ahampay) January 9, 2026

Huge crowds of protesters have been marching through Iran’s capital and other cities, videos show, in what is said to be the largest show of force by opponents of the clerical establishment in years.

The peaceful demonstrations in Tehran and the second city of Mashhad on Thursday evening, which were not dispersed by security forces, can be seen in footage verified by BBC Persian.

Later, a monitoring group reported a nationwide internet blackout.

I cannot wait to visit Tehran.

Persia is of our world’s greatest cultures. Iran has been almost half a century under this oppressive theocracy.

Wishing you all every success. Good luck out there.

I do not understand the lack of our coverage here. But we still hear you.

LFG. pic.twitter.com/yAkSEBYBjn

— Eric Weinstein (@EricRWeinstein) January 8, 2026

I’m not afraid. I’ve been dead for 47 years this is the voice of a woman in Iran who is fed up with the Islamic republic.
47 years ago, the Islamic Republic took our rights and turned a nation into hostages.
Today people have nothing left to lose, they rise.
Iran is rising. pic.twitter.com/GAawmynE0C

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 8, 2026

Iran’s army chief threatened military action against the United States after President Donald Trump warned the regime against using lethal force against protesters amid widespread demonstrations.

Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets about a week ago, expressing their anger over inflation and the devaluation of their currency. But the movement quickly morphed into calls for the end of the Islamic regime.

No one doubts the enmity of Trump and Netanyahu toward the Iranian nation — Iranian Army commander-in-chief Amir Hatami

‘They dare to interfere in our internal affairs’

‘Just in the past 6–7 months, they have killed over a thousand of this nation’s children’ pic.twitter.com/IFxzVjDbEy

— RT (@RT_com) January 7, 2026

Iranian security forces are shooting at prosters in Neyriz, #Iran. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/omgzidgCut

— Kayıtbay #News (@wanderlustt_3) January 6, 2026

On December 29, protests erupted among shopkeepers in Tehran, Zanjan, and Hamadan — all clustered in Iran’s north and west. Then came Qeshm, isolated on the southern coast.

That location matters. Qeshm Island sits just 60 kilometers across the Strait of Hormuz from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). That is roughly the distance from Manhattan to Philadelphia, and far shorter than most successful Mediterranean crossings from Syria to Europe.

If Iran’s current instability deepens into a full crisis, Iranians may well attempt these crossings by boat. The proximity of Iran to the UAE makes it virtually inevitable.

Since the end of Iran’s 12-day war with Israel, there has been mounting evidence that its regime has been ramping up missile production. Tehran’s perspective is straightforward: if its nuclear program has become more vulnerable, then its missile arsenal must increase as a compensatory tool of power.

It is no secret that the Iranian regime has been accelerating and expanding its ballistic missile program at an alarming pace, and has invested heavily in improving the range, accuracy, survivability, and payload capacity of its missiles. These missiles – now part of reportedly the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East – can reach not only regional targets but also the U.S. and Europe, a senior Iranian lawmaker has openly boasted.

In stark contrast to the unprincipled reactions of both Barack Obama and Old Joe Biden when the Iranian people took to the streets in previous years to protest against the bloodthirsty mullahs of the Islamic Republic, President Donald Trump didn’t hesitate to remark on the unrest in Iran on Monday, and to declare his support for the courageous Iranians who are putting their lives on the line for freedom after enduring 46 years of tyranny.

Another escalation in the protests in Iran:

The governor's offices in Ramhormoz in southern Iran (Ahvaz) were attacked and set on fire. In the evening hours, under the cover of darkness, the protesters become braver and the attacks against the regime more violent. pic.twitter.com/7ZMUnKM8CW

— Chaya’s Clan (@ChayasClan) December 31, 2025

Thousands of people have protested in Iran in recent days against the dramatic devaluation of the currency, amid an economic crisis that has engulfed the country.

What began as a strike by shopkeepers and bazaar merchants on Sunday has become an outcry of political anger, with some even chanting “Death to the dictator!” The spontaneous protests have already spread from Tehran to other cities, such as Isfahan and Mashhad.

#Breaking: A special unit of the #Iran's Islamic Regime is deployed to #Isfahan city center to brutally suppress an anti-regime protest there.

The regime is brutally suppressing protests across the country today.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/hLq5cOht6B

— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) December 31, 2025

It fell to Masoud Pezeshkian, a former heart surgeon who is now the reformist president of Iran, to pass on the message that had been resounding on the streets of Tehran for two days.

The regime would do well to pay heed, Pezeshkian said, to protests that erupted in the capital over the country’s deepening economic woes.

They should also pay attention to where the demonstrations began, Iranian exiles add, and the images of defiance that seem to have put a regime, at least for a moment, on the back foot.

A teenager from Iran sent me these videos with this message:
“I was terrified while filming them. Please share them and show the world that we, the people of Iran, do not want this regime.”

The protests in Iran began in Tehran and are now spreading to cities across the country.… pic.twitter.com/4xu2S5vh86

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) December 29, 2025

Big protests against the Islamic regime in Iran. These people could be convicted under Labour's proposed "Islamophobia laws". pic.twitter.com/eYY6zrl6WL

— Leo Kearse – on YouTube & touring (@LeoKearse) December 29, 2025

Protests are erupting across Iran against Khamenei’s terrorist regime. Despite attempts to suppress the demonstrations, the movement keeps growing.

After 46 years of oppression and executions, Iranians deserve freedom and peace.

I stand with the great people of Iran. Do you? pic.twitter.com/1KZ4hnUyvv

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) December 30, 2025

No matter how many sanctions are imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran, its regime continues to survive, adapt and expand its influence. This endurance is not the result of economic strength or internal legitimacy, but of a carefully constructed system designed to evade restrictions, exploit loopholes, and rely on foreign actors willing to ignore or undermine international enforcement.

As long as the Iranian regime can breathe through these openings, sanctions alone will not weaken it; instead, the regime will continue to fund repression at home, empower militant proxies abroad, and project dominance across the region.