Yesterday, Sunday, December 29, marked the anniversary of the brutal suppression of protesters against the 2009 election results by agents under the orders of the regime’s leaders. To commemorate this, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement filled with empty rhetoric and threats against the overwhelming majority of enraged citizens. These threats reveal the regime’s fear of the people’s growing fury, a force that could shatter their rule. Alongside these threats, the regime, as in previous years, organized ceremonies nationwide to intimidate protesters by commemorating the unprecedented brutality of their forces. Reports suggest that these state-organized ceremonies were less attended and effective than ever before.
The truth of today is that the core of the regime’s power is weaker than ever, a fact even their leadership cannot deny. Brave women have transformed the compulsory hijab law into a meaningless piece of paper with their courageous resistance. Simultaneously, workers’ and retirees’ struggles continue to expand and gain momentum.
Yesterday, December 29, merchants and business owners in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar closed their shops in protest against the instability of the dollar, which surpassed 81,000 tomans. A large group of protesters gathered in Bagh Sepahsalar, where they read a resolution in the presence of police forces. This resolution voiced objections to issues such as skyrocketing raw material costs, the sharp decline in the national currency’s value, reduced purchasing power, the severe market recession, and the lack of raw materials necessary for production. Protesters chanted: “With an 80,000-toman dollar, business is impossible!”
According to reports, militant workers, struggling laborers, free-spirited women, and freedom seekers are increasingly turning to conscious and organized resistance. However, drawing from past experiences, they are avoiding direct confrontations with security forces without adequate preparation. Apart from a handful of corrupt commanders, many forces are sympathetic to the current social protests.
Meanwhile, the complete failure of the regime’s costly policies to establish the so-called “Axis of Resistance” in the region, alongside economic collapse, rampant corruption, deepening internal disputes, and the influence of protests and crises, has significantly weakened the regime’s core power. The people—conscious, revolutionary, and determined to overthrow the regime—recognize this reality.
For decades, millions of opponents of the capitalist Islamic regime have been fighting against the ruling elites, exploiters, and looters. These struggles have led to three major uprisings: the protests of December 2017, November 2019, and the revolutionary movement sparked by Zhina Amini’s death in 2022. Despite achieving some victories and learning valuable lessons, protesters had to retreat due to a lack of organizational preparedness, often incurring significant casualties.
These retreats were strategic, aimed at regrouping and organizing. Efforts toward organization have borne fruit, with activists identifying and connecting with each other. Yet, as soon as the seeds of any organizational framework begin to sprout, the regime’s agents viciously attempt to crush them.
Today, with the regime’s central power greatly weakened, it has become easier to counter repression. Moreover, there is growing recognition of the necessity of organizing revolutionary workers and idealists into nationwide political organizations, alongside civic associations, to build a stronger foundation for sustained resistance.
