Protests spread across Iran on Tuesday after President Donald Trump and other government officials expressed support for demonstrators. During his speech on Monday, Trump pointed to Iran’s economic collapse and long-standing public discontent, while stopping short of calling for regime change.
In Iran, demonstrations began for the third day in a row and spread beyond the capital’s commercial center. The exiled opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported widespread strikes and student protests in Tehran and several provincial cities, describing clashes with security forces and anti-government chants. Video obtained by the NCRI shows protesters pushing back security forces and forcing them to leave the scene on Tehran’s Jomhouri Street.
Iran International reported that universities emerged as major centers of protest, with rallies at the University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, Shahid Beheshti University, Elm-o-Sanat University and Khajeh Nasir University. Security forces have tightened access controls to campuses and fortified offices linked to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
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The strikes spread across Tehran’s Shoush and Molavi districts and to Isfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Square, while parts of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and the gold market were closed. Mobile phone traders gathered outside major shopping centers after closing their shops. The protests turned violent in several locations, with tear gas being fired in Tehran and Malard and reports of live fire in Hamadan. Nighttime demonstrations were reported from Qeshm Island in the south to Zanjan and Hamadan in the north, with videos showing chants of “death to the dictator.”
During a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, Trump said he “would not talk about overthrowing a regime.” Instead, he focused on Iran’s deteriorating economy and the state’s violent response to protests. “They have massive inflation. Their economy is broken, the economy is not good,” Trump said.
He said that when Iranians gather to protest, the regime responds with deadly force.
Nooses with red roses are displayed during the Anglo-Iranian community meeting in support of the Iranian people’s push for a new revolution. Members of the Anglo-Iranian community, along with supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), commemorated the 45th anniversary of Iran’s revolution, which saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime and its eventual cession to a theocratic Islamic republic in 1979. (Loredana Sangiuliano/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Every time there’s a riot or someone forms a group, small or large, they start shooting people,” Trump said. “You know, they kill people. Suddenly people start getting shot and that group disintegrates pretty quickly.”
Trump said he had seen unrest grow for years and called Iran’s leadership brutal.
“I’ve been looking at this for years – there is enormous dissatisfaction,” he said. “I watched it for years, and cruel, cruel people.” His comments came as protests intensified following the collapse of Iran’s currency to an all-time low. The rial fell to around 1.45 million per US dollar on the open market, sparking strikes and demonstrations around Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and spreading to other major cities, Iran International’s live coverage showed. Videos and eyewitness accounts described heavy security deployments, clashes with protesters and the use of tear gas as unrest increased.
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US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz issued an immediate statement of support. “The people of Iran want freedom,” Waltz wrote on X. “We stand with the Iranians in the streets of Tehran and across the country as they protest a radical regime that has brought them nothing but economic decline and war.”
A parallel statement from the US government’s Persian-language account, @USAbehFarsi, said Washington supports the Iranian people’s efforts “to make their voices heard,” urging the Islamic Republic to respect fundamental rights rather than suppress protests.
Iranian officials acknowledged the unrest but defended the government’s approach. Reuters reported that government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said Tehran recognizes protests and that officials would set up a mechanism to contact protest leaders. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered his interior minister to meet the demonstrators’ “legitimate demands” and engage in dialogue with their representatives.
Independent analysts warned that the unrest reflects deeper structural tensions. The OSINT research group SpecialEurasia said in an assessment on Tuesday that Iran’s internal stability has reached a “critical threshold”, citing the convergence of the currency’s collapse, renewed international sanctions and chronic water and energy shortages. The group noted that the participation of bazaar traders, traditionally a pillar of support for the regime, signals declining confidence in the state’s economic management and increases the risk of prolonged unrest.
NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi said the protests reflect the anger of “tens of millions” who have been pushed to the breaking point by inflation, corruption and clerical rule. NCRI’s claims reflect opposition reporting and cannot be independently verified due to restrictions on access within Iran.
Protesters march in central Tehran, Iran, Monday, December 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)
Cameron Khansarinia, vice president of the National Union for Democracy in Iran, said the latest demonstrations underline a growing shift in public sentiment. “Iranians have taken to the streets again.” Citing President Donald Trump’s comments this week, he added that “every time they do that, the regime tries to crush it,” but argued that “the Iranians’ desire to be free continues to outweigh their fear of the regime.” Khansarinia claimed that chants in support of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi have increased during the protests and said demonstrators showed “remarkable courage.”
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Protesters march in central Tehran, Iran, Monday, December 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)
As protests continue, verification of victims and arrests remains limited, but the scale and spread of the unrest underscore mounting pressure on Iran’s leadership amid an economic freefall and growing public backlash.
