{"id":58303,"date":"2025-12-31T19:21:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T13:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/?p=58303"},"modified":"2025-12-31T19:21:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T13:51:07","slug":"mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMullahs Must Leave\u201d: Iran rocked by massive protests against Islamic theocratic rule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lotus_feed_featured_image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/organiser.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/whatsapp-image-2025-12-31-at-12.19.47-pm.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"420\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For the last two days, chaos has engulfed the streets of several Iranian cities and towns as deepening economic distress spilled into open political defiance. With the Iranian rial crashing past 42,000 to the US dollar and inflation surging beyond 42 percent, the clerical regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is confronting its most serious wave of street protests in three years.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Videos circulating widely on social media show crowds chanting openly anti-regime slogans, including \u201cMullahs must leave Iran\u201d and \u201cDeath to the dictatorship.\u201d \u00a0The footage reflects a clear rejection of the Islamic Republic itself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The unrest marks a sharp escalation in Iran\u2019s long-simmering crisis, where economic collapse has fused with political fatigue after decades of clerical rule. Iran\u2019s population of more than 92 million is now grappling with soaring prices, collapsing purchasing power, and widespread unemployment, conditions that have pushed even traditionally cautious segments of society onto the streets. This internal upheaval comes at a time when the Iranian regime is already under severe external pressure. Tehran is still reeling from Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities, as well as the continued impact of Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d sanctions policy, which sought to cripple Iran\u2019s economy and isolate its ruling clerics internationally. The central question now being debated by analysts is whether the current unrest represents spontaneous domestic blowback or whether it is evolving into the political leverage Washington has long sought against Tehran.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-smiley\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/72x72\/1f6a8.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\udea8\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BREAKING<\/a><br \/>\nEyes on Iran, Protests are spreading nationwide, from Tehran, Mashhad, and Qeshm to more cities across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, people in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Malard?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Malard<\/a> took to the streets in protest against the regime.<br \/>\nPublic anger is growing, and the uprising is expanding.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranProtests<\/a>\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vWUxTqpm8H\">pic.twitter.com\/vWUxTqpm8H<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shabnam Madadzadeh (@ShMadadzadeh) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShMadadzadeh\/status\/2005717036148596999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One image circulating among Iranian expatriate networks has come to symbolise the moment. It shows a lone man sitting motionless in the middle of a Tehran highway as regime security forces on motorcycles move in to disperse protesters. Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), compared the image to the iconic photograph from Tiananmen Square protests, when Chinese tanks crushed pro-democracy demonstrators. Several Iran watchers have also reported the re-emergence of pro-Shah slogans, invoking the monarchy that was overthrown in the 1979 revolution led by Khamenei and other clerics.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iranian state media has acknowledged the protests but has moved quickly to minimise their political significance. The government-run IRNA has framed the unrest as isolated demonstrations over economic grievances rather than a broader rejection of the theocratic system. \u00a0However, events on the ground suggest a far wider and deeper anger. Since Sunday, Iran has been witnessing its largest street protests since 2022\u201323, when nationwide demonstrations erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran\u2019s morality police. That earlier movement severely rattled the Islamic Republic and drew global condemnation over the regime\u2019s brutal crackdown.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 29, clashes erupted in Tehran and Mashhad, as security forces used batons and tear gas to disperse crowds. Central Tehran quickly emerged as a major flashpoint, given its concentration of government buildings, financial institutions, and commercial hubs. Videos shared online showed protesters inside a shopping complex in Tehran\u2019s Grand Bazaar chanting, \u201cHave no fear, we are all together.\u201d Demonstrators openly taunted security forces, calling them \u201cshameless,\u201d according to media reports.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iranian news agency Fars acknowledged that several protest slogans had gone \u201cbeyond economic demands,\u201d an implicit admission that political anger is now driving the unrest. The government\u2019s attempts to contain the narrative have done little to obscure the scale of frustration boiling over across major cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Mashhad.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the heart of the crisis lies Iran\u2019s collapsing economy. The immediate trigger for the protests has been the free fall of the rial, which has plunged to record lows against the US dollar. The currency collapse has wiped out household savings and made basic necessities, \u00a0food, medicine, fuel, and rent, increasingly unaffordable for ordinary Iranians. The shock forced the resignation of Central Bank chief Mohammad Reza Farzin, a rare acknowledgment of economic mismanagement at the highest levels. Traders, shopkeepers, and small business owners have since joined the protests, signalling that the unrest is no longer limited to students or activists but has spread to the backbone of Iran\u2019s urban economy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yet the anger goes far deeper than exchange rates and inflation figures. Many Iranians see the economic collapse as inseparable from decades of authoritarian rule, corruption, and ideological rigidity under the clerical establishment. Memories of the 2022 protests remain fresh, and grievances have only hardened since then as living costs have soared while opportunities have shrunk. Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was no surprise that Iranians were taking to the streets amid a collapsing economy, which he blamed squarely on the regime\u2019s extremism and corruption. \u201cThe Iranian regime has ruined what should be a vibrant and prosperous country,\u201d Pompeo wrote on X, adding that Iranians deserve a government that serves the people rather than \u201cthe mullahs and their cronies.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Watch Iran. <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-smiley\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/72x72\/1f440.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc40\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The people of Iran have had enough of the Islamic regime. Mass protests are hitting major cities across Iran, calling to end the Islamic revolution and free the nation from Islam. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jz3vcjoxT2\">pic.twitter.com\/jz3vcjoxT2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 XRP NESARA-GESARA QFS 3.0 (@NesaraGesara0) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NesaraGesara0\/status\/2006177361868320855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What is now unfolding across Iran appears to be more than a cyclical protest over prices or wages. It resembles a society buckling under the cumulative pressure of years of economic hardship, political repression, and international isolation. Trump-era sanctions and renewed military threats have undeniably tightened the vise on Tehran, accelerating the currency collapse and amplifying public anger.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As security forces move aggressively to crush demonstrations, comparisons with past moments of brutal state repression, \u00a0from Iran\u2019s own history to Tiananmen Square, \u00a0are becoming more frequent. Whether the current unrest fades under force or evolves into a sustained challenge to clerical rule remains uncertain. But one thing is clear that the chant echoing through Iran\u2019s streets, \u201cMullahs must leave\u201d, marks one of the most direct and dangerous challenges the Islamic Republic has faced in years.<\/p>\n<p>Credit : Organiser Weekly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the last two days, chaos has engulfed the streets of several Iranian cities and towns as deepening economic distress spilled into open political defiance. With the Iranian rial crashing past 42,000 to the US dollar and inflation surging beyond 42 percent, the clerical regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is confronting its most serious &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[31630],"class_list":["post-58303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-international","tag-mullahs-must-leave"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u201cMullahs Must Leave\u201d: Iran rocked by massive protests against Islamic theocratic rule - Matribhumi Samachar English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cMullahs Must Leave\u201d: Iran rocked by massive protests against Islamic theocratic rule - Matribhumi Samachar English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the last two days, chaos has engulfed the streets of several Iranian cities and towns as deepening economic distress spilled into open political defiance. With the Iranian rial crashing past 42,000 to the US dollar and inflation surging beyond 42 percent, the clerical regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is confronting its most serious &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Matribhumi Samachar English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-31T13:51:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/organiser.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/whatsapp-image-2025-12-31-at-12.19.47-pm.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Saransh Kanaujia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Saransh Kanaujia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cMullahs Must Leave\u201d: Iran rocked by massive protests against Islamic theocratic rule - Matribhumi Samachar English\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-31T13:51:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-31T13:51:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0a61403f4baf9627e92218b53a1e65f1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cMullahs Must Leave\u201d: Iran rocked by massive protests against Islamic theocratic rule\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Matribhumi Samachar English\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0a61403f4baf9627e92218b53a1e65f1\",\"name\":\"Saransh Kanaujia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45a8b03a1b1bb8255014f5e62f9cfea0eb8a9f7a6a604f9879038df08da23cea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45a8b03a1b1bb8255014f5e62f9cfea0eb8a9f7a6a604f9879038df08da23cea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Saransh Kanaujia\"},\"description\":\"Saransh Kanaujia is currently editor of Matribhumi Samachar Group. He earlier worked with Hindusthan Samachar News Agency. He is also associated with many organizations.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/author\/matribhumisamachar\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cMullahs Must Leave\u201d: Iran rocked by massive protests against Islamic theocratic rule - Matribhumi Samachar English","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cMullahs Must Leave\u201d: Iran rocked by massive protests against Islamic theocratic rule - Matribhumi Samachar English","og_description":"For the last two days, chaos has engulfed the streets of several Iranian cities and towns as deepening economic distress spilled into open political defiance. With the Iranian rial crashing past 42,000 to the US dollar and inflation surging beyond 42 percent, the clerical regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is confronting its most serious &hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/","og_site_name":"Matribhumi Samachar English","article_published_time":"2025-12-31T13:51:07+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/organiser.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/whatsapp-image-2025-12-31-at-12.19.47-pm.webp"}],"author":"Saransh Kanaujia","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Saransh Kanaujia","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/","url":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/","name":"\u201cMullahs Must Leave\u201d: Iran rocked by massive protests against Islamic theocratic rule - Matribhumi Samachar English","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-12-31T13:51:07+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-31T13:51:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0a61403f4baf9627e92218b53a1e65f1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/31\/mullahs-must-leave-iran-rocked-by-massive-protests-against-islamic-theocratic-rule\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cMullahs Must Leave\u201d: Iran rocked by massive protests against Islamic theocratic rule"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/","name":"Matribhumi Samachar English","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0a61403f4baf9627e92218b53a1e65f1","name":"Saransh Kanaujia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45a8b03a1b1bb8255014f5e62f9cfea0eb8a9f7a6a604f9879038df08da23cea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/45a8b03a1b1bb8255014f5e62f9cfea0eb8a9f7a6a604f9879038df08da23cea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Saransh Kanaujia"},"description":"Saransh Kanaujia is currently editor of Matribhumi Samachar Group. He earlier worked with Hindusthan Samachar News Agency. He is also associated with many organizations.","sameAs":["https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en"],"url":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/author\/matribhumisamachar\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58338,"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58303\/revisions\/58338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}