What is happening in Iran?
By: Riley Duignan
Beginning December 28, 2025 to currently, Iranian citizens have been participating in a large scale protest across Iran due to their collapsing economy. Is it really that bad?
According to the Iranian statistics center, in December 2025 the inflation rate was as high as 52.6%, while the average inflation rate has not gone below 30% since around 2019. From 2013-2017 the average inflation rate did not generally exceed 16%, but since 2019 the inflation rate has increased significantly, averaging around 42% in general.
In April of 2018, President Hassan Rouhani had announced that the official government subsidized rate for imports would be 42,000 IRR (Iranian rial) to 1 USD, in order to stabilize prices in Iran and unify exchange rates, but that would not be the reality for Iranian citizens. Iran relies on imports for numerous things such as agricultural goods, machinery, pharmaceutical products, and so forth. Importers who would buy these supplies of products that could not be made domestically would have to use the Nima exchange rate or the floating market rate, which are both extremely higher than the so claimed subsidized rate. The Nima exchange rate was around 154,000 IRR to 1 USD, while the floating market rate was 162,000 IRR to 1 USD. Merchants would have to sell their products for higher rates due to the import expense, and buyers would have to pay a significantly higher amount of money. But in March of 2022, the Iranian parliament would vote to abolish the previously fixed exchange rate of 42,000 IRR to 1 USD, but it only took effect in 2024, with the IRR being devalued at 89% and the new subsidized rate being 370,000 IRR to 1 USD. As of today, the actual rate is 1.1 million IRR for 1.03 USD.
On December 28, 2025 mass protests around Iran would begin after Tehran’s Bezaar merchants began to close shops because of the sky high importing/inflation rates. It then prompted many people from nearly every demographic to begin protesting. Not only calling out the almost record high inflation rates and collapsing economy, but also the totalitarian government, and especially calling out Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been sanctioned by the US and other UN- involved countries for possible crimes against humanity. He is extremely known for his consistent enforcement and support of the dress codes for women in Iran, and also authorized a harsh crackdown against protesters in the 2022-2023 protests, primarily the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, and being reported to use systematic torture or killings against protesters or “rioters” by numerous human rights organizations and the US department of State.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, around 18,470 protesters have been arrested and a total of 2615 protesters have been confirmed dead as of now. These mass arrests are being ordered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and have been the cause of an attempt at social suppression and silence. Most protesters who were killed by the shootings and attempted crackdown of the protests, have been dragged into “body piles”, where dead people in body bags are thrown into a pile in front of morgues, hospitals, and specific holding areas around the country; showing Iran’s complete apathy and ignorance towards the protesters. According to a CNN interview, one victim by the name Robina Aminian was shot and killed during a protest, and was put in such piles. Her uncle Nezar Minouei quotes, “Her mother, screaming, crying and yelling, and with a lot of difficulty, finally was able to get access to the area where the bodies were kept so she could begin looking for her daughter’s body, She found her daughter’s body and essentially had to steal it.” He later states in the CNN interview that when they had gotten back to their hometown, the authorities were at their house looking to make them pay for it[Aminian’s body], so they had buried her in an unmarked grave out of fear the government would try to come back and take her body. Anonymous interviewees from CNN had also stated that authorities were not even allowing families or people to go into the areas with the bodies, or retrieve their loved ones without paying.
Iran’s people are revolting against their corrupt and oppressive government, and they’re not letting the government stop them either. It’s essential that we push and learn that protesting can make a difference, even if you’re watching from far away. No matter where you are, you can make a difference for people in your own country or even across the world.
Sources
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202601016383
https://oec.world/en/profile/country/irn
https://www.eca-international.com/insights/blog/june-2024/may-currency-review#:~:text=When%20Iran’s%20parliament%20voted%20to,cost%20of%20living%20very%20much.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/world/middleeast/iran-inflation-soars-officials-say.html#:~:text=Iran’s%20central%20bank%20disclosed%20Wednesday,its%20value%20within%20a%20week.
https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/economy/inflation-in-iran-now-close-to-50-percent-according-to-new-report/#:~:text=When%20US%20President%20Trump%20pulled,to%20reduce%20their%20negative%20impact.
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202512280124
https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/iran/
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm824#:~:text=This%20action%20is%20being%20taken,Blocked%20Persons%20(SDN%20List).
https://old.iranintl.com/en/world/united-states-sanctions-ali-khameneis-son-and-inner-circle#:~:text=On%20the%2040th%20anniversary%20of,Ali%20Rashid%20and%20Hossein%20Dehghan
https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-protests-trump-01-14-26?post-id=cmkdvsz13000d356pazsi5uis