Iran Protests Spread Nationwide Amid Economic Crisis

Thousands rallied in the streets and shouted from homes across Tehran and other Iranian cities on Thursday evening, responding to a call for mass demonstrations by exiled opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, as nationwide protests against the country's economic crisis intensified. The unrest, which began on December 28, 2025, has now spread to all 31 provinces, with reports of demonstrations in 348 locations, according to monitoring groups.

Witnesses described neighborhoods in the capital erupting in chants at 8 p.m. local time, including "Death to the dictator" and "Death to the Islamic Republic," alongside praises for the shah, such as "This is the last battle! Pahlavi will return!" The gatherings marked a significant escalation, with thousands participating despite an immediate government-imposed cutoff of internet access and telephone lines, as reported by tech firms CloudFlare and NetBlocks. Such disruptions, attributed to state interference, have historically preceded harsher crackdowns on dissent.

The protests stem from Iran's deepening economic woes, exacerbated by years of international sanctions, the collapse of the rial to 1.4 million per U.S. dollar in December, and...