Protests ignited on December 28, 2025, when Tehran’s shopkeepers struck over soaring inflation and unemployment, spreading to 180 cities with calls against Supreme Leader Khamenei.
Security forces crushed the uprising by mid-January amid an internet blackout, leaving disputed death tolls from 3,428 verified by rights groups to activist estimates of 20,000.
Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi demands strikes on regime leaders and vows trials, while his mother calls for a National Day of Mourning on January 23 alongside a UN session.
