The Trigger: Economic Collapse
Iran is once again engulfed in mass protests, but this time the stakes feel higher and the repression deadlier.
Nearly four years after the last major uprising sparked by the death of a young woman detained for hijab violations, Iranians are back on the streets.
This time, the trigger was economic collapse—skyrocketing inflation and the plummeting rial—but the chants quickly turned to the country’s theocratic rulers.
Massive Scale and Diversity of Protests
The American Democracy Project spoke with several Iranians risking everything to share their stories amid a brutal government crackdown that has reportedly killed over 6,000 protesters, the deadliest since the Islamic Republic’s founding in 1979.
A 25‑year‑old fashion designer in Tehran described the protests as unprecedented in scale and diversity.
Unlike previous waves, this one brought together young and old, wealthy and working‑class, even children.
A Designer’s Perspective
The designer and her friends faced tear gas, pellet guns, and violent charges by riot police and paramilitary forces.
They fled into alleys where residents threw antiseptics and rags to help the wounded.
The designer herself was hit by paintballs and pellets but kept protesting because she believed staying home meant surrendering any hope for change.
The crowd refused to disperse, chanting slogans that could mean death if caught—calls for the demise of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Doctor’s Account in Mashhad
In Mashhad, a doctor recounted the unprecedented scale of violence she witnessed.
Hospitals overflowed with bodies bearing gunshot wounds, while security forces took control of emergency rooms, threatening medical staff to stop treating the injured.
Wounded protesters were left to die under armed guard, and families trying to reclaim bodies faced harassment and arrests.
Authorities attempted to brand victims as government supporters to suppress dissent.
Government Response and Repression
State Narrative and Media Warfare
Khamenei labeled protesters as foreign agents or misguided saboteurs.
State media portrayed them as terrorists destroying public property.
Counter‑demonstrations of regime loyalists have done little to quell the unrest.
Internet Blackout and Security Presence
The internet blackout isolates Iranians from the outside world and from each other.
Security forces remain omnipresent in Tehran’s public squares, with plain‑clothes agents and riot police ready to pounce.
International Appeal and Ongoing Struggle
The doctor’s plea is clear: the scale of state violence against its own people is almost unimaginable, and ignoring it only deepens the tragedy.
Iran’s crisis is not just about economics or politics—it is a brutal contest over dignity and rights.
Readers are urged to pay attention, demand accountability, and not let the world turn away.
As the regime tightens its grip, the international community must not look away.
The fight for democracy and human rights in Iran is far from over, and the consequences of indifference are deadly.
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