Iran unrest: Tens of thousands on streets; 27 killed in clashes with forces — what’s unfolding

Iranian security forces fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on Tuesday, as a rights group said more than two dozen people have been killed in a crackdown on the most significant protests to hit the Islamic Republic in three years.

The demonstrations were sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, with the Iranian rial falling again on Tuesday to a fresh record low against the dollar.




At least 27 protesters have been killed since the unrest began, including five minors under the age of 18, according to Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR). Iranian authorities say members of the security forces have also been killed, including a policeman shot dead on Tuesday.



The protest wave began on December 28 with a shutdown by merchants at the Tehran bazaar, a key economic hub, and has since spread to other parts of the country, particularly western regions home to Kurdish and Lor minorities. It marks the most serious challenge to the leadership since the 2022–2023 nationwide protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

Iran’s Fars news agency reported “sporadic gatherings” around the bazaar during an afternoon shutdown, with police dispersing protesters who scattered into nearby alleyways.



Social media footage showed demonstrators chanting slogans such as “Pahlavi will return” and “Seyyed Ali will be overthrown,” references to the pre-1979 monarchy and to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Videos posted by IHR and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRNA) showed crowds shouting “freedom” and “shameless” before security forces fired tear gas, sending protesters fleeing as smoke filled the area. State news agency IRNA said “some” arrests were made, without providing figures.

With protests entering a tenth day, HRNA also shared footage of large crowds marching in Abdanan in western Iran, chanting: “This is the last message, the entire regime is the target.”



While the unrest has not yet reached the scale of the 2022–2023 movement or the mass protests that followed disputed elections in 2009, it comes amid a deepening economic crisis and months after a 12-day war with Israel, posing a fresh test for the leadership of 86-year-old Khamenei.

President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government has announced modest monthly payments to ease economic hardship, but the judiciary has warned there will be no leniency for what it calls “rioters.” Official media have acknowledged at least 13 deaths since the protests began, including security personnel.



IHR said more than 1,000 people have been arrested nationwide and accused security forces of killing at least six protesters in a single incident on Saturday in Ilam province. It also alleged authorities raided hospitals in Ilam and Tehran to detain injured protesters, claims echoed by Amnesty International, which said such actions showed how far authorities were willing to go to “crush dissent.”

Pezeshkian has ordered an investigation into events in Ilam province, according to his office. Fars reported that a policeman was killed in Malekshahi on Tuesday after being hit by a bullet fired by “rioters.”

Meanwhile, the rial slid to around 1.47 million to the dollar on the informal market, according to currency tracking websites, deepening the economic pressures that first drove traders into the streets late last month.