Popular protests in Iran have entered their fifth day. What began as economically motivated protests (inflation, the collapse of the rial, poverty, and high prices) led by bazaar merchants has quickly turned into a broad political movement with fundamental demands. With students, citizens, and teachers joining the protests, slogans aligned with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement are being chanted, and calls for the overthrow of the system are being raised.
The wave of protests rapidly spread to streets, universities, and some labor gatherings, and in many places evolved into openly political slogans and demands. At the same time, the government has attempted to control the situation through a combination of security measures; arrests, shootings, and heavy presence, psychological warfare, widespread administrative shutdowns, and economic promises; however, signs of the continuation and multi-centered nature of the protests, including in more than 15 cities, are prominent.
With the onset of darkness, simultaneous large gatherings were held in several cities. In these gatherings, anti-authoritarian slogans especially “Death to the dictator” played a central role. In Arak, people demonstrated at night chanting “Death to the dictator.” In Hamedan, there were face-to-face clashes between protesters and security forces. In Mamasani (Fars) and Fooladshahr in Isfahan, people took to the streets chanting “Death to the dictator.” Protests spread to the cities of Isfahan, Fasa, Kuhdasht, Ganaveh, Dorud, Baghmalek, Kermanshah, Nahavand, Junqan, Ramhormoz, Farsan, and Aligudarz.
Strikes and popular protests against economic collapse, repression, authoritarianism, and suffocation expanded further on Tuesday and spread to universities and cities across the country. According to reports, there were attempts to divert the slogans of the people and bazaar merchants through sound manipulation, but these efforts failed, and the main slogans of the people and bazaar merchants continued to align with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement and opposition to dictatorship.
While the government shut down the entire country under the pretext of “cold weather,” protests continued in various parts of Tehran and several cities after nightfall. Reports indicate nighttime gatherings and protests by the people of Arak. Protesters chanted slogans including “Death to the dictator.” In Hamedan, nighttime protests with chants of “Death to the dictator” led to face-to-face clashes with security forces. The people of Mamasani in Fars Province held protest gatherings as night fell. Nighttime rallies and marches by the people of Fooladshahr in Isfahan took place with chants of “Death to the dictator.”
Student protests and simultaneous gatherings at several universities in Tehran and other cities as part of the ongoing nationwide protests, student demonstrations were held on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at universities including Elm-o-Farhang, Elm-o-Sanat, Shahid Beheshti, the University of Tehran, Khajeh Nasir, Polytechnic, and others. These gatherings were called in advance, and reports indicate intensified security control and crackdowns on protesting students. The protests also spread to other cities, with students at Yazd University and Isfahan University of Technology holding protest gatherings. Among the slogans chanted at these gatherings were: “Students may die, but they will not accept humiliation,” and “Basiji, Sepahi, you are our ISIS.”
The echo of the slogan “Neither headscarf nor baton, freedom and equality” at Khajeh Nasir University;
At Khajeh Nasir University, female students once again removed their headscarves and, while waving them, repeated the Jina movement slogan: “You are the obscene one, you are the immoral one, I am the free woman.” Other slogans chanted by students at Khajeh Nasir University included “Poverty, corruption, high prices-we will go until overthrow,” and “Death to the dictator.”
According to reports received by “United Students,” on Tuesday night, December 30, students at the Salamat Dormitory of Allameh Tabataba’i University chanted slogans including “Death to the dictator,” “All these years of crimes, death to this guardianship,” “Our share of youth: poverty, corruption, high prices,” “Woman, Life, Freedom,” and “Students may die, but they will not accept humiliation.”
On Tuesday, December 30, students at Isfahan University of Technology held a protest gathering. Part of a statement read by the students said: “For 40 years at their Friday prayers they have sent death wishes to everyone, now it’s our turn to say ‘Death to the dictator.’”
According to the University of Tehran Student Council, the latest reports indicate that Aref Hadi-Nejad, Mobin Aminian, Mani Eydi, Mozhan Mahdizadeh, Seyedeh Negar Mahdiniya, and Shayan Dehkordi-Adami students who were arrested during Tuesday’s protests have been released. However, there is still no information about the situation of Shahin Shokouhi, another detained student.
In Fasa, direct gunfire at protesters has been reported; there are also reports of the killing of an 18-year-old youth.
In Kuhdasht, direct gunfire at citizens has been reported.
In Behbahan, four people have been arrested.
What stands out in the protests of recent days is the shift in quality from “protest against prices and inflation” to “protest against the structure of power” a transition that typically occurs when an economic crisis reaches a political deadlock and broader segments of society conclude that the issue is not merely a flawed economic policy, but an entire socio-political order.
