Protests Erupt Across Iran As Angry People Flood Streets – RedState
The mullahs have ruled Iran since 1979.
It’s long.
But there are still people who remember what it was like in the country before. They remember what it was like to have more freedom then. Since then, resistance movements have emerged, both inside and outside Iran, attempting to bring about change.
There have been times in the past when things seemed close, like with the Green Movement that began in 2009 and brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets. But Barack Obama was in office in 2009, so their hopes for support were dashed. Then, in 2016, he secretly sent $400 million to Iran.
The money was owed as part of a failed arms deal before the 1979 Islamic revolution, but the payment coincided with the release of four Americans detained in Tehran. Hari Sreenivasan speaks with Jay Solomon, the Wall Street Journal reporter who broke the story.
So you had millions that went to support the terrorist state.
But Iranians are a persistent people, it seems, especially when they get hurt in the wallet and it’s hard to survive. We are living in another one of those moments in history where hope is reborn in the country and people take to the streets to call for change.
Nationwide strikes and protests by traders continued across Iran, with shops closed in major shopping centers including Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, Lalehzar Street, Naser Khosrow and Istanbul Square. Protesters chanted anti-government slogans calling for the fall of the ruling clerics and demanding the departure of leaders.
A video circulating online showed protesters inside a large shopping complex in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar chanting “Don’t be afraid, we are all together,” while insulting security forces and calling them shameless.
Additional footage from Tehran’s bazaar neighborhoods showed crowds chanting “Death to the dictator,” calling on merchants to close their stores and demanding President Massoud Pezeshkian step down, while voices in the video claimed businesses had closed their doors in protest.
It has also spread to other cities. In one video, they even appear to have pushed the police back.
Mass protests in Iran against dire economic situation https://t.co/PJuCT8xELN via @YouTube
– Nickarama (@nickaramaOG) December 30, 2025
Some called for the return of the Shah.
It’s not hard to see one of the main reasons they’re ticked off. We are talking about inflation; it’s inflation.
The Iranian rial fell to a new record low against the US dollar. Official data shows year-on-year inflation reached 52.6% in December, while average annual inflation was 42.2%.
As we have reported, there are also serious water and energy shortages.
LEARN MORE: The world must stop ignoring what Iranians already know: the regime is on the brink of collapse
This requires courage, if we remember the position of “Tank Man” who opposed the Chinese government tanks during the demonstration in Tiananmen Square.
Crushed by inflation, the soaring cost of living and a future stolen by the regime, Iranians are back on the streets to protest. In a chilling echo of Tank Man from Tiananmen, a man sits defiantly in front of riot police. Despair met courage. pic.twitter.com/TH0zWipnhC
– Dr. Reza Parchizadeh (@DrParchizadeh) December 30, 2025
I wish them lots of luck.
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