Iran's protests are about much more than the economy

By Rojina Parchizadeh

The latest wave of protests in Iran build on a long history of resistance against the regime, writes Iranian-Australian law and psychology student, Rojina Parchizadeh.

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For ten consecutive days, people across Iran have taken to the streets. What began as an organised protest against a depreciating currency in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar has escalated into nationwide demonstrations across 92 cities.

While mainstream news outlets have characterised the demonstrations as economic protests, videos circulating on social media reveal that the protestors’ frustrations run much deeper than the depreciation of the Rial.

Protestors shout: ‘Death to the Dictator!’.

Young women wave their hijabs and chant: ‘You are the pervert. You are wanton. I am the enlightened woman’.

University students yell: ‘Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!’

Although economic issues are undoubtedly a concern, they are not the whole story. As human rights lawyer Gissou Nia explains, protests may begin with economic triggers, ‘but if we listen to the slogans, and the extent of the protests, it’s about profound dissatisfaction with the Iranian regime and the desire for that regime to disappear.’ This was evident during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement of 2022, and it is occurring once again.

Woman, Life, Freedom

The Woman, Life, Freedom protests erupted after Mahsa Jina Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, died in the custody of the regime’s so-called Morality Police after being arrested for wearing her hijab in an ‘improper way.’ After her death, the regime claimed that Amini had died due to a pre-existing medical condition, a claim which was discredited by her family. Amini’s father reported that the authorities prevented the family from viewing her body, a strange reaction to a supposedly natural death.

Amini’s death ignited a nationwide movement demanding freedom and justice, with women at the forefront. During the protests, Iranian authorities killed at least 500 demonstrators (including children) and arrested thousands more. The UN Factfinding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran later concluded that authorities committed crimes against humanity such as murder, torture, enforced disappearance, persecution, and rape. The regime has provided no apologies or reparations for those crimes.

The Current Protests

The current protests may appear distinct, but they are inseparable from Woman, Life, Freedom. The Iranian government’s response to the protests has been strikingly similar: gunfire, tear gas and mass arrests. Despite the government’s pledge to engage in dialogue with the protestors, at least 34 protestors have been killed, and over a thousand arrested. Security forces have even infiltrated hospitals, deploying tear gas in wards, seeking to arrest wounded protestors and remove dead bodies. Amnesty International has described these attacks as gross violations of international law.

Yet students at the University of Tehran continue to chant ‘Woman, Life, Freedom!’. Evidently, the regime’s brutal crackdown on the 2022 protestors has not extinguished resistance, it has only intensified it.

Political narratives about the protests

Unsurprisingly, several actors have sought to exploit these protests to further their own political agendas.

Some have claimed that foreign intelligence agencies orchestrated the unrest, as though Iranians have not been dissatisfied with their government for decades. A timeline of major protests since 1979 confirms that dissent is not new.

Some have blamed the US sanctions for Iran’s economic crisis. While the sanctions have undoubtedly exacerbated the economic crisis, they are not the root cause of Iranian peoples’ financial stress. Rather, decades of government mismanagement and corruption have devastated the Iranian economy. The regime has sold Iran’s oil to its allies at substantially discounted prices, resulting in the loss of $9 billion dollars in annual revenue. Regime officials have also profited off of the situation by creating quasi-governmental entities that help the government circumvent sanctions at high costs.

Others have called for foreign military intervention, despite overwhelming historical evidence that foreign intervention rarely leads to lasting liberation. Lasting freedom has only been achieved through grassroots movements demanding justice. International pressure through sanctions, boycotts and UN mechanisms can support these grassroots movements, but it cannot replace it.

How can we help?

I can’t speak for all Iranians.

But I will say that when Western audiences discuss Iran, they often fail to consider their positionality. While these audiences are skilled at identifying American propaganda, they are less skilled at identifying propaganda from other states.

After Israel’s unlawful war on Iran, for example, many people accepted the regime’s claim that people executed by the Iranian government were ‘Mossad agents’. Most Iranians are aware that the regime often labels opponents as ‘Mossad agents’ to justify repression, but western audiences were unfamiliar with this tactic. This allowed the propaganda campaign to succeed, with the Iranian government executing over 1,500 people in 2025 (compared with 975 people in 2024).

As someone who supports the freedom of all peoples – whether Iranian, Palestinian, Sudanese, or Ukrainian – I urge people to read better content about Iran. Read broadly but be critical about the voices you listen to. Ask whether those voices support the human rights of all oppressed groups, or only those that align with their politics.

Human rights lawyer Gissou Nia, for example, provides excellent commentary on what is going on in Iran from an international law viewpoint. Pages such as Middle East Matters, Center for Human Rights in Iran, and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran provide credible analysis and updates. Listening to informed voices is essential for supporting the Iranian people.

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About the author

Rojina Parchizadeh

Rojina is an Iranian-Australian law and psychology student with a focus on international law and social justice. In 2024/25, she was a member of Macquarie University's Jessup Team, one of three teams which represented Australia at the international rounds of the Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. You can find more from Rojina on Instagram, where she regularly posts political content with her sister, Lily.