By writer and journalist Hividar Khalid

Iran is witnessing a growing wave of protests sweeping through many cities and regions, including the capital Tehran, as well as Mashhad, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Mahabad, Zanjan, Hamedan, Arak, Qom, Shiraz, Kerman, and dozens of other cities.

According to observers of Iranian affairs, the popular protests—led by merchants and shop owners—erupted following the sharp collapse of the national currency, unprecedented price hikes, and the government’s poor management of living crises. They also came as a strong response to the dire and deteriorating economic situation resulting from the current authorities’ misguided economic policies, the harsh living conditions the country is experiencing, and the lack of job opportunities. As a result, people are living in a state of despair and injustice due to their inability to secure suitable employment that would allow them to sustain their lives. During the protests, demonstrators chanted slogans against the Supreme Leader, including: “Death to high living costs” and “We will continue until the regime falls.”

The slogans echoed by the protesters revealed that today’s demands have gone beyond purely economic issues and have begun to take on a clearly political character, ranging from direct criticism of political leaders to opposition to Iran’s regional policies. This reflects the anger of the middle class and low-income groups.

This is not the first time Iran has witnessed widespread popular protests. In 2022, specifically in mid-September, the country saw a massive wave of demonstrations following the killing of the Kurdish young woman Jina Amini by Iranian security authorities under the pretext that she had violated what is known as the “proper Islamic dress code.” The protests then expanded under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom,” inspired by the philosophy of leader Abdullah Öcalan. The slogan spread to all Iranian cities and regions, transcended national and continental borders, and turned the women’s revolution into a cause belonging to all peoples and women, chanted in dozens of languages around the world.

Yes, Iran is today witnessing a new round of wide-scale, peaceful popular protests, as the country has become a powder keg. This comes at a time when the regime is suffering from a real political crisis, especially following U.S. strikes that targeted the Iranian interior and resulted in the killing of dozens of prominent figures within the ruling establishment. Despite Tehran’s boasts of its strength in the region, these developments have diminished its role, reduced its influence and expansion, and created genuine economic and social crises within society—catastrophic repercussions that the regime has been unable to confront, despite attempts to cover them up and conceal them without acknowledgment, out of fear for its influence, structure, and survival.

For years, the Iranian people have lived under an authoritarian, repressive rule that uses religion as a pretext to intimidate society and impose control through force and violence rather than modern democratic methods. Iranian women, in particular, suffer under the policies of the current authorities and are required to struggle even harder to put an end to these practices, legislations, and unjust laws imposed upon them. In addition, many women are imprisoned or executed without fair trials amid opaque procedures and unjust decisions about which little is known.

As soon as protests began in the country days ago, the Iranian regime appointed Ahmad Vahidi as Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—one of the most prominent human rights violators, with a dark record of suppressing protests in the past. This highlights the authorities’ inability to meet the demands of peaceful protesters; instead of listening to them, the regime resorts once again to repression, as it has done before.

It is clear that the authorities are losing any coherent strategy to address problems, and it has once again become evident that the regime’s options are extremely limited at present. Genuine solutions to complex crises will not be easy. Naturally, and as is well known, what happens in Iran will directly and absolutely affect global security, the world economy, and regional international politics, given Iran’s involvement in many countries in the region and its relations with influential states.

Meanwhile, Iranian security forces have responded to protesters by intensifying live-fire attacks using military weapons, according to media reports, leading to deaths and injuries among civilians. Yet, despite excessive force and heavy security deployment by the Iranian regime—which for more than four decades has relied on intimidation and organized violence—it has so far failed to contain the expanding protests. The same approach continues unabated against the diverse populations living in this ancient geography.

Yes, Iran today stands before an extremely important and sensitive phase, whose effects may extend beyond the country to the entire region and beyond. It has become clear that the rapid and unfolding changes within Iran are not merely routine protests with an economic character or a wave of anger against the authorities’ practices. Rather, they may become a key factor and a new path forcing the Iranian regime to make concessions—even if only to some popular demands—which will not be easy, nor comparable to situations in other countries in the region. Tehran is facing immense pressure not only internally, but externally as well. We have seen statements by U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened military intervention in Iran to protect protesters, saying: “If Iran fires on peaceful demonstrators and kills them, the United States will intervene to save them.” This blunt statement suggests that we may now be facing a potential confrontation between the two states, which continue to exchange statements regularly.

As protests continue, condemnations of the repression targeting unarmed civilians have mounted. The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) expressed its full support for the democratic struggle against the dictatorial mentality, stating that the success of the popular uprising is possible through democratic unity and the overthrow of a dictatorship that harbors hatred against innocent lives.

Indeed, the Iranian regime is required to meet popular demands and respond to them—not with violence and force, as the era of such practices has ended. The regime must change itself, establish democratic foundations, and ensure dignified living free from oppression, tyranny, and the executions for which it has become notorious. It must halt systematic arrest campaigns and unjust restrictions, end policies that generate poverty, hunger, and killing within society in all its components and segments, and fulfill the legitimate demands of the people for life, freedom, and the right to live according to their identity. This includes protecting rights—especially those of women in Iran, who are known for their continuous struggle against the current regime’s approach and its arbitrary violations against them.