In the Islamic Republic of Iran, large-scale anti-government protests have been raging for a second week, with experts calling them the most serious in three years. The demonstrations, which erupted in late December amid a catastrophic collapse of the national currency and rampant inflation, quickly escalated from economic demands to political ones. The situation in the country remains critical: human rights activists report dozens of deaths and mass arrests, while official Tehran attempts to maintain control through forceful suppression and an information blackout. The most violent clashes are being reported in Iran's western provinces, traditionally considered the most problematic in terms of economic and political loyalty. The Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw reports 27 deaths and over 1500 arrests in these regions, while local residents complain of widespread internet outages, which the authorities are using to disrupt the protesters' coordination.

Amid growing chaos, Iran's top leadership is taking an uncompromising stance, blaming external forces for the unrest. The country's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has publicly vowed not to yield to the "enemy," while Iran's chief justice emphasized that the open support of the demonstrators by the United States and Israel deprives the protesters of any justification, turning them into participants in foreign-inspired unrest. Tensions are also being fueled by harsh rhetoric from Washington: President Donald Trump has already threatened the Iranian regime with a "serious blow" if it begins mass killings of civilians. Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah, has addressed Iran's security forces, calling on the army and police to turn their weapons against the regime and defend the people. Pahlavi, who has lived in exile for decades, is attempting to rally democratic forces around the ideas of a secular state, individual freedoms, and preserving the country's territorial integrity, a move that has resonated with some of the protesters.

Reports of protesters effectively seizing the towns of Abdanan and Malekshahi in the west of the country have caused particular resonance. According to Ali Safavi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the rebels have taken control of these towns and are celebrating their success in the streets under slogans directed against the republic's top leadership. If confirmed, this would mark an unprecedented loss of state sovereignty over entire urban areas in Iran's modern history. However, official Iranian state media categorically denies such reports, claiming that security forces are in full control of the situation and that the small groups of protesters were dispersed using riot police. Contradictory reports from the conflict zone and the lack of official casualty statistics indicate the onset of a profound internal crisis, the outcome of which will determine the future of the political order of the entire Middle East.