Over 2,000 protesters are reported to have been killed by the Iranian government since late December, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. The exact death count is unknown because of a government-imposed communications blackout in the country on January 8.
Protests started out mostly peaceful in Tehran, but have since expanded across the country, being met with deadly government backlash. Despite initially focusing on the current economic crisis, protests have grown to include multiple sources of frustration with the current leadership. Protesters chant about things like clerical rule (Iran’s non-secular government), the regime’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and the leadership of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Some call for a return of the exiled former prince, Reza Pahlavi.
The economic crisis that sparked these recent demonstrations includes extreme inflation of the Iranian currency, the Rial. This means that food, medicine, and other essentials are becoming hard to access for many Iranians. “The recent sudden drop in the exchange rate is a direct result of the snapback in economic sanctions,” an Iranian American activist said. US sanctions, reimposed in 2018 by President Trump, have directly weakened the Iranian economy, affecting the middle class significantly. The sanctions have set the stage for government corruption, funnelling wealth towards the elite. “[While] the Iranian government is mismanaging the resources,” the economic crisis is “still a direct result of foreign power’s involvement.”
Trump has expressed support towards the Iranian protesters, in a series of tweets on Truth Social. He calls for Iranian Patriots to “KEEP PROTESTING” and to “TAKE OVER INSTITUTIONS!!!” He says the US will come to the protesters’ rescue, adding that the US is “locked and loaded and ready to go.” The White House Press Secretary has mentioned the possibility of “lethal force.”. In response, the Iranian government has readied itself for potential US involvement. “We are not looking for war, but we are prepared for war,” Abbas Araghchi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, said.
After this exchange, President Trump announced that “the killing [in Iran] has stopped and the executions won’t take place,” leading many to believe that he has decided against military action. Based on the President’s past interactions with foreign nations, the future of US-Iran relations is uncertain.
The Iranian government claims that foreign terrorists are behind the intensity of the current unrest. Araghchi describes the actions of protesters as destructive and extreme. “These patterns of behavior indicate that the peaceful protests were hijacked by terrorists who were clearly trained in advance for such violent acts,” Araghchi said. They specifically call out Israel and the US, claiming that the US and Israel are taking advantage of peaceful protests for their own political goals.
It’s a complex and tedious situation, and at this point. “New propaganda is a war on reality and the truth is becoming less and less knowable,” the activist said, urging people to stay informed and on guard against propaganda.
