There is pressure on Iran from Israel and America. On the other hand, he is now surrounded in his own country. People are angry over issues like rising inflation in the country, Iranian currency Rial reaching record low, rising oil prices. People are protesting against the government. People have come out on the streets and are raising slogans regarding the serious economic crisis of the country. Slogans of down with the dictator are being raised.
The protests have escalated so much that security forces used tear gas to stop the protesters. Shops remained closed at many places across the country. Also, students were seen climbing on rooftops and raising slogans in support of women. Meanwhile, the Iranian currency Rial has reached a record low.
In the city of Mallard, about 28 miles from the capital Tehran, people faced armed security forces riding on motorcycles. In many cities, people climbed onto the roofs of their houses and raised slogans against the Islamic Republic and Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Meanwhile, the situation became tense in many universities of Iran. Demonstrations also started in the hostel of Tehran University. On Monday evening, security forces surrounded the hostel from all sides and closed its gates. A large number of security personnel were deployed throughout the campus. A student inside the hostel said, they have closed the gates and special forces on motorcycles are roaming around us. We are standing firm, some of us may be arrested, things may get worse – but we will not back down.
These protests in Iran began on Sunday afternoon, when traders of mobile phone and electronics shops closed their shops in Tehran. The reason for this was that the Iranian currency Riyal fell to a record low of 14.2 lakh Riyal against one dollar. People close to this got enraged.
On Monday afternoon, the police deployed with full preparation in front of hundreds of protesters in the Grand Bazaar and Saadi Street area of Tehran. Traders kept their shops closed and appealed to others to do the same. After the resignation of the Central Bank of Iran Governor on Monday evening, the Rial recovered a bit and came down to 1.38 million per dollar, but since June till now its price has fallen by about 40 percent.
This huge fall in currency has made the already existing inflation more serious. According to government data, the inflation rate reached 42.2 percent in December, which is 1.8 percent more than November. Prices of food items increased by 72 percent compared to last year, while health and medicine related items became costlier by 50 percent.
Earlier, there were nationwide protests in Iran in 2022 and 2023 also. During this time, people were angry after the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini in police custody. Hundreds of people were killed in those demonstrations. This month the Iranian government has also increased the prices of petrol. After this, MPs have warned that violent fuel protests like 2019 could be repeated. Also, earlier in 1953, traders had also gone on strike due to oil trade.
Israel has openly supported these demonstrations taking place in Iran. Meanwhile, Iran is facing opposition in its own country. On the other hand, US President Donald Trump met Israeli PM Netanyahu on Monday. During this meeting, he warned Iran that if it restarted its nuclear or missile programs, America could take military action. He said that he will teach Iran a lesson badly.
