DUBAI – Iran has been gripped by waves of protests, which began on December 28, as citizens express their mounting frustration over the country’s deteriorating economic conditions and the rapid devaluation of its currency. The unrest has led to numerous casualties and thousands of arrests, escalating daily with the government’s attempts to suppress the demonstrations. Initially centered on soaring food prices and the alarming inflation rate, the protests have increasingly taken on anti-government overtones.

The following outlines the progression of these protests:

On December 28, discontent erupted in two key markets in central Tehran after the Iranian rial plummeted to a historic low of 1.42 million against the U.S. dollar. This drastic depreciation intensified inflationary woes, driving up costs for essential goods. Earlier in December, the government had also raised prices on subsidized gasoline, further fueling public dissatisfaction.

By December 29, the protests had spread beyond Tehran, prompting the resignation of Central Bank chief Mohammad Reza Farzin. In response to the growing unrest, authorities deployed tear gas to disperse demonstrators in the capital.

On December 30, as the protests expanded to additional cities and university campuses, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held discussions with business leaders. During these talks, he assured them that his government would exert every effort to address the economic challenges facing the nation.

Dec. 31: Iran appoints Abdolnasser Hemmati as the country’s new central bank governor. Officials in southern Iran say that protests in the city of Fasa turned violent after crowds broke into the governor’s office and injured police officers.

Jan. 1: The protests’ first fatalities are officially reported, with authorities saying at least seven people have been killed. The most intense violence appears to be in Azna, a city in Iran’s Lorestan province, where videos posted online purport to show objects in the street ablaze and gunfire echoing as people shouted: “Shameless! Shameless!” The semiofficial Fars news agency reports three people were killed. Other protesters are reported killed in Bakhtiari and Isfahan provinces while a 21-year-old volunteer in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force was killed in Lorestan.

Jan. 2: U.S. President Donald Trump raises the stakes, writing on his Truth Social platform that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.” The warning, only months after American forces bombed Iranian nuclear sites, includes the assertion, without elaboration, that: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” Protests, meantime, expand to reach more than 100 locations in 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Jan. 3: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says “rioters must be put in their place,” in what is seen as a green light for security forces to begin more aggressively putting down the demonstrations. Protests expand to more than 170 locations in 25 provinces, with at least 15 people killed and 580 arrested, HRANA reports.

Jan. 6: Protesters conduct a sit-in at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar until security forces disperse them using tear gas. The death toll rises to 36, including two members of Iranian security forces, according to HRANA. Demonstrations have reached over 280 locations in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces.

Jan. 8: Following a call from Iran’s exiled crown prince, a mass of people shout from their windows and take to the streets in an overnight protest. The government responds by blocking the internet and international telephone calls, in a bid to cut off the country of 85 million from outside influence.

Jan. 9: Iran signals a crackdown is coming, but protesters again demonstrate. HRANA says violence around the demonstrations has killed at least 65 people while more than 2,300 others have been detained.

Jan. 10: The protests reach the two-week mark as the death toll reaches at least 116 people killed, HRANA says. Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, warns that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge

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Rising reported from Bangkok