Protests over rising living costs in Iran widened on Wednesday as university students staged demonstrations outside several campuses in Tehran and at educational institutions in Isfahan, marking the third consecutive day of unrest, according to local media reports dated December 30, 2025.
A news agency close to labor circles said the protests involved students from at least seven universities in Tehran. Heavy security presence was observed around some campuses and at major intersections in central Tehran. Meanwhile, a number of shops that had closed the previous day in protest against the deteriorating economic situation reopened on Wednesday.
Currency Collapse and Merchant Protests
The protest movement began on Sunday at one of Tehran’s largest mobile phone markets before spreading to other areas in the city center. Traders took to the streets to protest the sharp decline in the value of the Iranian rial, which has come under intense pressure amid ongoing Western sanctions.
The rial hit a new record low on the informal market, with the US dollar surpassing 1.4 million rials, compared with around 820,000 rials a year earlier, before seeing a slight recovery later.
President Calls for Dialogue
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged dialogue and engagement in response to the protests. In a post on X, Pezeshkian called on the interior minister to listen to protesters’ demands through discussions with their representatives, stressing that the government would address the crisis responsibly and mobilize all available resources.
Pezeshkian also met with labor union officials and proposed temporary tax relief measures aimed at supporting businesses for one year, as part of efforts to ease the economic strain.
At the same time, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned against attempts to exploit the protests to spread “chaos and unrest.” Iranian authorities have previously accused foreign actors of fueling demonstrations.
Officials said the closure of schools, banks, and public institutions in Tehran and other regions for one day was due to cold weather and energy-saving measures, denying a direct link to the protests.
Prolonged Economic Crisis
Iran’s economy has been struggling for years under the weight of international sanctions, which intensified after the reimposition of UN sanctions in September. The currency’s decline has fueled inflation and price volatility, prompting many traders to delay transactions.
While the current protests remain smaller in scale than those seen in 2019 and 2022, analysts say the participation of university students reflects growing public frustration and poses a fresh challenge for the government in managing the economic crisis and its political implications.
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