Protests that began on 28 December 2025 in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar have sparked a period of unrest in Iran, continuing into January 2026 and spreading across multiple cities nationwide, including Mashhad, Qazvin, Abdanan, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Zanjan, Ilam, Malekshahi, Shahrekord, Yazdanshahr, Kavar, Asadabad, Babol, Marvdasht, and Borujerd. Initially sparked by rising living costs and a 42 percent decline in the value of the Iranian currency (rial), the protests expanded to express frustration over governance, political repression, and deteriorating economic conditions. How it Began The wave of demonstrations began following a drop in the value of the rial, which hit a record low of roughly 1.45 million rials per U.S. dollar in late December 2025, down from around 420,000 rials per dollar earlier that year. In late 2025, traders reported the rial trading near 1.42 million to the dollar on the free market, a historic low that fueled protests and added to consumer hardship as Iranians faced soaring prices. This currency crisis has then driven inflation higher to about 42.2 percent, leaving many Iranians struggling to afford basic necessities. Merchants in Tehran’s central bazaars were among the first to strike and…
