_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
Protests across Iran have spread to around 70 cities, escalating into deadly clashes between demonstrators and government forces. The unrest began with merchants protesting soaring inflation and a collapsing currency, and has since spread, taking on a political character with calls for regime change and a toppling of Ayatollah Khamenei.
In response, President Donald Trump warned Tehran that the United States is prepared to act if the government uses lethal force against what he described as "peaceful protesters."
_THE FACTS_
At least 10 protesters have been killed in the largest Iranian protests since 2022.
Iranian authorities announced a nationwide shutdown on Wednesday, officially citing extreme cold weather.
Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi urged the world to “stand with the people of Iran,” saying the regime is “weak, deeply divided,” and nearing “the end of the road.”
In Lordegan, protesters threw stones at government buildings; two deaths by gunfire were reported.
Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of individuals for "disrupting public order.”
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei admitted the country’s economic instability but deflected wider unrest by blaming “rioters” and foreign agitators.
He also vowed in a television address that Iran “will not yield to the enemy” after Trump’s threat, ordering rioters to be “put in their place.”
President Trump warned that if Iran "shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters," America would "come to their rescue."
_INSIGHTS_
Over the years, protests — led mainly by young Iranians — have cropped up, always to be tamped down by the powerful regime. However, these demonstrations are larger and more widespread than past ones, with chants of “death to the dictator” alongside calls to restore the Shah.
Whether this popular rise in discontent among Iranians will lead to the government’s collapse remains to be seen. With President Donald Trump boasting that the US will “come to [the protesters’] rescue” if government forces open fire, it’s clear that outside powers like the US, Israel, and others are dramatically increasing pressure on Khamenei and his theocratic regime.
