The US dollar now trades at more than 1.4 million Iranian rials.

Over the past five decades, Iran’s currency has depreciated by approximately 20,000 times its original value, reaching a historic low just last month. This decline has triggered widespread protests across the nation.

Initially, shopkeepers in Tehran’s bustling bazaars initiated strikes, which rapidly spread to the streets of the capital and eventually reached nearby provinces.

In a matter of weeks, these shopkeepers were joined by university students and economically struggling citizens, all calling for relief from prolonged financial difficulties.

The Islamic regime, under the leadership of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded to the protests with force.

But how did Iran get to this point?

Years of global sanctions

The 1979 Iranian Revolution saw the Imperial State of Iran overthrown and replaced by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the decades that followed, the value of the rial rapidly declined due in part to global sanctions and diplomatic isolation.

Those were lifted in 1981 but fresh sanctions were imposed in 1984 as a result of the Iran-Iraq war, and in 1995 in response to Iran’s nuclear program.

The European Union (EU) also has imposed multiple sanctions against Iran over the past decades.

It and the US currently enforce sanctions restricting cooperation with Iran in the following sectors:

Sanctions have also been imposed by the UN Security Council to restrict Iran’s nuclear program, enforce an arms embargo, freeze Iranian assets, and more.

The sanctions have been used to influence Iran’s policies and have had a massive impact on the nation’s economy.

The role of the Revolutionary Guard

Iran established its Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) after the 1979 revolution and it plays an economic role as well as serving as a military force.

The IRGC has firms across just about every profitable industry in Iran, from engineering and logistics, to oil and gas, infrastructure, transport, ports, telecommunications, and mining.

And those IRGC-affiliated firms tend to win major state contracts with limited competition or civilian oversight.

The result is a ‘parallel economy’.

While Iran’s formal civilian sector struggled to operate under strict regulations and in the face of inflation and currency insecurity, it was a different story for the part of the economy dominated by IRGC-affiliated businesses.

They were able to access foreign currency, enjoyed security protection, and could use informal trade routes to get around sanctions.

As a result IRGC-affiliated businesses have thrived, amassing power and money while pushing out private businesses.

Sanctions paired with systemic corruption has caused the value of the rial to decline rapidly over the past 10 years.

Iran already imports many essentials from abroad and decreased food production caused by years of drought have only made staples like bread more expensive.

By 2022, many Iranians could barely afford to feed themselves.

About 10 million Iranians have fallen into poverty in the past decade alone, according to the World Bank.

Almost 30 per cent of the population were living below the poverty line in 2020, and 40 per cent are at risk of falling into poverty in the near future.

Iran’s 12-day war with Israel and the US in June 2025 only made things worse.

The loss of nuclear and military facilities in the bombing cost Iran billions in reconstruction and lost income and had a devastating impact on the economy.

By December the value of the rial had hit a record low, kicking off weeks of protests which have left at least 500 people dead.

The death toll is only expected to rise.

How Iran is responding to protests

When protests first broke out, the newly-appointed head of Iran’s central bank promised the government would address the “legitimate” issues affecting Iranians.

He offered citizens cash handouts of $US7 ($AU10) per month.

But the protests continued, leading Iranian authorities to crack down on protestors – sometimes violently.

Hundreds of protesters and tens of security personnel have died since demonstrations began, but exact reports of what’s going on in Iran right now are hard to verify.

The government already has a firm hold over local media outlets and restricts international outlets from reporting in Iran.

A communications blackout has also been implemented, cutting off the internet and phone lines – and, by extension, everyday Iranians’ connection to the outside world.

Now there are fears the Iranian government could come down on protestors even harder and the death toll is predicted to continue to rise.