Protests are taking place across Iran demanding the ‘death penalty for the dictator’

Credit: X / @abdolah_abdi

The regime’s economic crisis has sparked widespread protests in Iran calling for the “death of the dictator”.

Tear gas was used to disperse protesters as shops closed in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and main markets.

University students called on their friends to join the demonstrations, while chants rang out from rooftops in several cities and the Iranian rial sank to record lows, all against a backdrop of continued threats from Israel and the US.

Residents of a town near Tehran told The Telegraph that a large presence of armed motorcycle-mounted security forces was seen around midnight.

On Monday, security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Tehran while residents of Mallard, 28 miles east of the capital, faced armed guards on motorcycles.

In many cities, people took to their rooftops and chanted slogans against the Islamic Republic and its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The protests have been cheered by Israel, whose foreign ministry welcomed the move with “open arms”, hoping to oust Mr Khamenei.

Credit: X / @mamadporii @ Vahid

Donald Trump also threatened military action on Monday if Iran rebuilds its nuclear or missile programs, warning that it will “knock them to hell”.

At several universities, students urged their friends to join the demonstration after protesting at Tehran University’s dormitory complex.

Security forces cordoned off the hostel on Monday evening and locked its doors with tight security around the campus.

The students living in the complex raised slogans like ‘Women, life, freedom’, ‘Students die but do not accept insults’, ‘Be afraid, be afraid, we are all together’.

A student inside the hostel said: “They have closed the gates, and special forces on motorbikes are surrounding us. We are determined – some of us may be arrested, the situation may deteriorate – but we will not back down.”

Iranian universities have long been hotbeds of political activism, with students playing a key role in demonstrations for decades.

Ahmedreza, a university student from Mallard, told the Telegraph: “They [the protesters] Streets are closed in many neighborhoods, and chants are coming from all directions. People are also chanting from the roof of their houses.

“It is almost impossible to move from one part of the city to another. There are police cars with cages. People are angry and tired as the prices go up day by day.”

The protests began after mobile phone and electronics shops in Tehran closed their stores on Sunday afternoon as the rial currency fell to a record low of 1.42 million against the dollar.

Riot police confronted hundreds of protesters near Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and in the Saadi Street area on Monday afternoon.

Traders closed their shops and asked others to join the bandh. There is a heavy presence of security personnel in various places of the capital.

The currency recovered slightly to 1.38 million on Monday evening after the Islamic Republic’s central bank governor resigned, but is down about 40 percent since June.

The collapse of Iran’s currency has fueled severe inflation. The State Statistics Center said inflation reached 42.2 percent in December, up 1.8 percentage points from November.

Compared to the same period last year, the price of food has increased by 72 percent, while the price of health and medical supplies has increased by 50 percent.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezhekian told parliament on Sunday: “I have no motivation to be in government or to be president if I cannot solve the problems of the people and the poor.”

“It’s not something I want to be proud of. We can’t govern when people have problems … They say wages are low, that’s why they’re low, they say you’re taxing too much, so we’re taxing too much.

“On the other hand, they will increase the salary, someone tell me where I will get the money from?”

As the demonstrations spread, Mr Pezheskian addressed the protest directly on Monday night, saying he would listen to the protesters’ demands.

He said: “We have fundamental measures on the agenda to reform the monetary and banking system and protect people’s purchasing power.

‘In order that the government can take full initiative to solve the problem and work in an accountable manner, I have given the responsibility to the home minister to listen to the legitimate demands of the protestors by negotiating with their representatives.

In 2015, when Iran signed a nuclear deal with world powers that lifted international sanctions, the rial was trading at 32,000 to the dollar.

That deal fell apart in 2018 after Trump withdrew the United States.

Collapse the deal

The deal completely collapsed in October and then reimposed UN sanctions that were lifted as part of the deal.

Iran last held nationwide protests in 2022 and 2023 after the deaths of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Hundreds of people were killed, more than 20,000 were arrested, and many were executed in connection with those demonstrations.

State media acknowledged Monday’s protests but said the shopkeepers were only concerned about the economic situation.

State media reporters on the main 20:30 news program tried to portray the protests as economic rather than anti-regime, showing scenes of normality on the streets and interviewing residents.

One resident said: “Please put an end to it – put an end to it. The dollar value is rubbish.”

Another shopkeeper said, “If we sell something today, we cannot buy it at the same price tomorrow. The government should think about the situation.”

The government’s IRNA news agency reported that mobile phone vendors were responding to business threats from currency devaluation.

Iran also raised gasoline prices this month, prompting warnings from lawmakers about a possible repeat of the violent 2019 fuel protests that left hundreds dead in the deadliest unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Imprisoned Iranian politician and leading dissident Mustafa Tajzadeh said: “Now is the time for all those who want a prosperous, free and independent Iran to speak with one voice and separate religious institutions from political institutions, return power to the people to the clergy, and return to the seminary to its traditional base.

‘The safest and most reliable way to get out of the crisis is to call the Constituent Assembly and amend the Constitution according to the will of the nation.

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