Overview
- Demonstrations that began on December 28 in Tehran with shopkeepers closing businesses have expanded to cities including Isfahan and Mashhad.
- Local reports describe confrontations with police and paramilitary units, including stone-throwing by protesters and efforts to force entry into government buildings.
- Security forces have moved to disperse crowds, with reports that live ammunition was used in some locations and multiple arrests were made.
- State-linked Fars News Agency reported five fatalities in Lorestan, a figure not independently verified by international outlets.
- The unrest follows the September 2025 collapse of the nuclear agreement and the return of UN and Western sanctions, which coincided with the rial losing roughly half its value over the past year.