The government, forced to negotiate with them to keep the economy afloat, has caused high inflation, over 40% per year, which has hit the population hard, especially the middle class. After the war with Israel, the country tried to shift control of the currency from the oligarchs, but this price increase and financial manipulations destroyed the hope of the citizens.
Iran is facing major protests, despite the fact that a few months ago, during the confrontation with Israel, the people supported the government. The reason is not only the war or the current crises, but a complex social, political and economic situation. After the Iran-Iraq war and the abolition of the functions of the prime minister, Iranian presidents have become mainly “implementers” of decisions, without the role of the main decision-maker. During the years of sanctions, the government has allowed oligarchs and family members of officials to enrich themselves by managing the oil trade and imports, often benefiting from the large sums of money entering the country. These oligarchs also control basic goods such as food, medicine and animal feed, considering themselves “the real owners of the country.”
The government, forced to negotiate with them to keep the economy afloat, has caused high inflation, over 40% per year, which has hit the population hard, especially the middle class. After the war with Israel, the country tried to shift control of the currency from the oligarchs, but this price increase and financial manipulations destroyed the hope of the citizens.
Protests began in large cities like Mashhad, where people, tired of inflation and lack of prospects, took to the streets. Many young people, who have known only sanctions and economic crisis, feel betrayed and politically unrepresented. Pro-democracy movements have been crushed with arrests and harsh trials, leaving only the monarchist opposition as a public voice to rally and lead the disillusioned middle class. The situation has also been exacerbated by a generational gap: young people no longer trust the previous activists and see foreign monarchists as an alternative, while the truth is that the government and oligarchs continue to control the country without accountability. The latest protests are an expression of the frustration accumulated over years, where political freedoms, economic opportunities and basic services have been curtailed.
What remains unclear is whether the people will succeed in challenging the coalition of the government and the oligarchs and change the social and political reality in the country.
Meanwhile, the death toll from protests in Iran has reached 2,403, the US-based human rights group HRANA said. The toll continues to rise as the Islamic Republic’s clerical leaders try to quell the biggest wave of anti-government protests in years, prompting threats of US intervention. US President Donald Trump has urged Iranians to continue their protests, promising to come to their aid. HRANA said late Wednesday that it had verified the deaths of 2,403 protesters, 147 government-linked individuals, 12 people under the age of 18 and nine civilians who did not take part in the protests. An Iranian official said on Tuesday that around 2,000 people had been killed. It was the first time authorities have given a total death toll from the nationwide unrest that has raged for more than two weeks. Asked what he meant when he said “help is coming,” Trump told reporters that they would have to figure it out for themselves.
Trump has said military action is among the options he is considering to punish Iran for its crackdown on protests. In an interview with CBS News, Trump said the US would take “very strong action” on Iran if the regime starts hanging protesters. “We don’t want what’s happening in Iran to continue,” he said. “It’s not going to end well.”
He added that the administration is awaiting official confirmation of the number of protesters killed by Iranian security forces. Trump announced a 25 percent import tariff on products from any country that trades with Iran — a major oil exporter. China, which buys most of Iran’s oil exports, immediately criticized the move. In a phone call on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of U.S. intervention in Iran, according to an Israeli source present at the conversation, Reuters reports. Iran vowed to respond to any attack by hitting Israel and U.S. bases and ships.
The unrest, fueled by dire economic conditions, has presented the biggest domestic challenge to Iranian leaders in at least three years and has come at a time of growing international pressure on Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.