The United States is “ready and armed” to “assist” the demonstrators protesting against the high cost of living in the country, declared the American president. The uprisings are the largest in three years in the Islamic republic. US President Donald Trump has suggested that the United States could intervene in Iran, swept away in recent days by a wave of demonstrations, if the authorities “shoot on peaceful demonstrators and violently kill them”. Clashes with security forces left six dead this Thursday (01/01), the fifth day of uprisings against the high cost of living in the country.
“We are ready, armed and ready to respond,” Trump wrote. According to the president, the United States’ goal is to “help” the protesters, but it is unclear how that will happen.
In the capital Tehran, traders closed their businesses to protest against hyperinflation, currency devaluation and economic stagnation. Then the protests spread to universities and other parts of the country.
Iran has suffered for years from uncontrolled commodity inflation and chronic devaluation of its currency, the rial. In December, prices increased by an average of 52% compared to the previous year, according to the Central Statistics Department.
The United States and Iran have been rivals since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and do not have formal diplomatic relations. Iran supports various groups involved in conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
Exchange of threats
In June, U.S. military forces sided with Israel in the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. The American and Israeli governments accuse Iran of wanting to build a nuclear bomb, which the Tehran regime denies.
“Trump must know that American interference in this internal matter would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying its interests,” Ali Larijani, secretary general of the Iranian Security Council, wrote on social media. “We distinguish between the position of protesting traders and the actions of disruptive actors.”
It is not clear how the protests will evolve. “None of the opposition groups have so far managed to establish powerful organizations or lasting networks capable of leading the protests,” writes historian Arash Azizi in the American magazine The Atlantic. “Without this guidance, the current protests risk losing momentum and dissipating.”
In Tehran, the political and economic center of the country, concern about the future has affected some residents for several years. “I saw the protests up close. Many belonged to generation Z, young people who have neither hope nor motivation,” explains Mortesa, a physical trainer.
Mohammad-Javad, who runs a jewelry store in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, closed his shop last Sunday. With fluctuations in the foreign exchange market, it must make corrections every hour. “We just don’t know what prices to set anymore,” he says.
The biggest protests in three years
Iran has faced repeated expressions of popular discontent in recent decades. The government often suppresses protests with tight security measures and mass arrests. But economic problems could now make those responsible more vulnerable.
This week’s protests are the largest in three years, since the national demonstrations sparked by the death of young Jina Mahsa Amini, in police custody, which paralyzed Iran for weeks at the end of 2022. At the time, human rights groups reported hundreds of deaths and arrests.
Now, video verified by the Reuters news agency shows dozens of people gathered outside a burning police station overnight, as gunshots ring out sporadically and protesters shout “shame, shame” at authorities.
Human rights monitoring group Hengaw reported 29 arrests linked to the protests. State television also reported the arrest of an unknown number of people in another town, Kermanshah, accused of making Molotov cocktails and homemade pistols.
The deaths recognized by official or semi-official Iranian media occurred in the small towns of Lordegan and Kuhdasht. Hengaw also reported that a man had been killed in Fars province in central Iran, although official news sites denied the report.
The president recognizes the flaws
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian adopted a conciliatory tone and promised dialogue with the protest leaders.
Faced with the American threat, Pezeshkian recognized that the failures of the authorities were at the origin of the crisis. “We are responsible. Don’t blame the United States or anyone else. We must serve properly so that people are happy with us. We are the ones who must find a solution to these problems,” he said.
The Pezeshkian government is trying to implement a program of economic liberalization, but the deregulation of part of the exchange rate has contributed to a sharp decline in the value of the Iranian rial on the parallel market. The devaluation of the currency has worsened inflation, which has remained above 36% since March, even according to official estimates, in an economy punished by Western sanctions.
Israeli and American attacks in 2025 increased pressure on the authorities, as did the fall in Syria at the end of 2024 of dictator Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Tehran, and Israeli bombings against its main regional partner, Lebanese Hezbollah.
ht/le (dpa, Lusa, Reuters)
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