Public protests took place in several cities in Iran beginning on 28 December 2017 and continued into early 2018, sometimes called the Dey protests. The first protest took place in Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city by population, initially focused on the economic policies of the country's government; as protests spread throughout the country, their scope expanded to include political opposition to the theocratic government of Iran and its longtime Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. The Iranian public showcased their fury in the protests with a wide repertoire of chants aimed at the regime and its leadership. According to The Washington Post, protesters' chants and attacks on government buildings upended a system that had little tolerance for dissent, with some demonstrators even shouting "Death to the dictator!"—referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—and asking security forces to join them.
The protests marked the most intense domestic challenge to the Iranian government since the 2009 presidential election protests. The year 2018 hosted the most serious and biggest opposition demonstrations since 2009, shaking the very pillars of this regime. However, these protests differ from the Green movement in participants, causes, goals, and chants. Unlike 2009, the 2017–2018 protests remain leaderless and disorganized. While some analysts suggest the protests are a result of unfavorable economic policies adopted by the administration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, others say that dissatisfaction with the theocratic regime and the Supreme Leader are the actual causes of the unrest. Rouhani acknowledged on 8 January 2018 that "people had economic, political and social demands".
According to Iranian authorities, protests turned violent in some parts of the country, and Iranian state television reported that the protesters attacked police stations and military personnel and installations, and started fires. As of 2 January 2018, at least twenty-one protesters and two security force members had been killed. Additionally, 3,700 demonstrators were arrested according to Mahmoud Sadeghi, a reformist lawmaker from Tehran, though official figures were much lower., Sheena McKenzie, CNN, 9 Jan 2018 On 5 January 2018, four special rapporteurs of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the Iranian government to acknowledge and respect rights of protesters and end its blocking of the Internet.
In a backlash against the protests, thousands of government supporters staged pro-government rallies in more than a dozen cities across Iran.
Background The current Iranian regime came into power following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which saw the Pahlavi dynasty overthrown in favor of a theocratic Islamic Republic led by Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini.What it's like for Iran's expats to watch protests unfold, CNN, 3 January 2018Iranian Shah's Son on Protests: 'People Chant, 'Death to the Dictator.' This Is About Much More Than Economic Issues' , Haaretz, 12 January 2018
Since 1989, Ali Khamenei has ruled Iran as Supreme Leader, making him the second-longest serving head of state in the Middle East (after Oman's Sultan Qaboos), as well as the second-longest serving Iranian leader of the last century, after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.The Islamic Republic’s Power Centers , CFR, 5 January 2018
The Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, who was re-elected in 2017, had promised many changes such as a richer economy and open foreign policy, but he has little power to change compared to Khamenei in the Iranian government.
In 2006, following international concerns regarding the government's nuclear program, a comprehensive, international sanctions regime was imposed on Iran. In 2015, Iran negotiated a deal with the great powers of the world in exchange for economic relief. Many Iranians hoped relief from sanctions would result in economic prosperity; however benefits have not reached the average Iranian. Instead, the benefit from sanctions relief mostly went to state firms and Setad controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, estimated by Reuters at $95 billion in 2013. In 2017, according to the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, 33% of Iranians lived below the poverty line, and the gap between the rich and poor has deepened. CNN's Hamid Panah argued that these distributional developments in the economy helped stoke the protests. Recent economic hardships have appeared to incite economic protests and shine light on government corruption.
In order to deflect criticism about the economy, Rouhani had been complaining for several weeks about government money going to religious institutions, which are seen as the power base of the hardliners; according to international media reports, analysts believe that hardliners started the protests as a means to embarrass Rouhani. For many Iranians, development had been slow despite the president's promise to restore the economy.
Protesters registered their opposition to cuts to fuel and cash subsidies, contained in the 2018 budget proposal unveiled in mid-December, which caused widespread anger, with the hashtag #pashimanam ("we regret" [i.e., we regret our vote for Rouhani]) going viral across the country. The generous government funding of the Revolutionary Guards remained unaffected, and there were large increases for religious foundations, which are not required to declare how they spend their funds, and are "tied closely to powerful clerics and often serve as machines for patronage and propaganda to build support for their authority." Furthermore, protesters sought an explanation as to why the government had spent a lot of money elsewhere in the Middle East.
The 2017-2018 protests were the largest protests in Iran since the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests.
Timeline
The protests began in Mashhad on 28 December 2017, and spread to over 140 cities in every province in Iran over a two-week period.. The demonstrations were started by crowds protesting across Iran, including in Mashhad, the second-most populous city. Protests spread to over 70 towns and cities, including Nishapur, Kashan, Kerman, Kermanshah, Kashmar, Rasht, Isfahan, Arak, Bandar Abbas, Ardabil, Qazvin, Hamedan, Sari, Babol, Amol, Shahinshahr, Shahrekord, Shiraz, Khorramabad, Zanjan, Gorgan, Zahedan, Urmia, Dorud, Yazd and Shahrud. According to CNBC, there was widespread protest in 80 cities in Iran.
In some demonstrations, protestors provocatively chanted "Reza Shah, bless your soul", a reference to Reza Shah, the leader of Iran during 1925–41 and founder of the Pahlavi dynasty that was deposed in the 1979 revolution that led to establishment of the current government. Protestors also shouted slogans praising the (deceased) deposed shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his son and former heir-apparent, the exiled Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran. The protesters called for Khamenei to step down, as well as tore down and set fire to posters of Khamenei in Tehran. Protesters also shouted: "Khamenei, shame on you, leave the country alone!" and "death to the dictator". Protesters also chanted "People are paupers while the mullahs live like gods."
December 2017–January 2018 The protests in Iran erupted on 28 December 2017. Several crowds were seen protesting across Iran, including in Mashhad, the second most populous city, as well as a several hundred person protest in Tehran, the capital. There were also protests in Neyshabour, Kashmar, Yazd and Shahroud. The protests were allegedly organised on social media messaging apps. Crowds were seen chanting "We don't want an Islamic Republic!", "death to Rouhani", as well as "death to the dictator".
The protests were initially for economic woes, against the high price of goods and commodities, but has "quickly changed" to protesting Iranian involvement in the Middle East, and the government itself.
Demonstrations continued on Friday past sunset. Protests spread to several major cities including Rasht, Isfahan, Ahvaz, Qom, Sari, Zahedan, and Qazvin. A small number of people were arrested in Tehran.
On 30 December the protests escalated, as three were killed and others wounded in shooting by Revolutionary Guards during night protests in central Iran. As Saturday coincided with the anniversary of 30 December 2009 pro-government rally in Iran, some 4000 people attended a pro-government rally in Tehran. According to state television, pro-government rallies were held in 1200 towns and cities in all. At the same time, anti-government riots spread to Tehran for the first time, where students in Tehran University chanted anti-government slogans before getting dispersed by riot police. Posters of Khamenei were torn down at Tehran University. Internet access was shut down in parts of the country, including many areas in Tehran.
Iran's interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli warned that those who "disrupt the order and break the law must be responsible for their behavior and pay the price". Rahmani Fazli said in a statement on state television that "fear and terror will definitely be confronted." VOA Persian's service identified the victims as Hamzeh Lashni and Hossein Reshno after a reporter spoke to the victims' families.
Anti-government protests continued for a fourth day. Some scattered demonstrations in Tehran and families of arrested protesters gathering outside Evin prison. 200 people were arrested in Tehran on Sunday, and another 10 were arrested in West Azerbaijan province.
Rouhani, in his first comments after days of anti-government demonstrations said people have the right to protest but stressed violence, vandalism and inflammatory political slogans must be avoided as these only worsen the conditions of the people.
According to Iran's State media accounts, which could not be confirmed by independent sources, some armed demonstrators tried to take control of police stations and military bases but were repulsed by security forces. It was confirmed that 10 people had been killed during clashes Sunday night.
Protests continued on Monday in Tehran and other cities throughout the country. State media reported that one member of the government security forces was shot and killed during protests on 1 January.
Clashes overnight between protesters and security forces killed nine people. State television reported that six of these deaths occurred after rioters tried to storm a police station in Qahdarijan with the intention of stealing weapons. Additionally, an 11-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were killed in the town of Khomeinishahr, and a Revolutionary Guard member was killed in Najafabad. All three were killed with hunting rifles. 550 people had been arrested since the start of protests. 90 percent of those arrested are younger than 25 years old.
On 3 January, there were sporadic demonstrations throughout Iran. In the city of Malayer demonstrations started after sundown and their chants targeted the Supreme Leader. Videos online also showed demonstrations in the northern city of Noshahr, with protesters shouting "death to the dictator". Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, dispatched forces to the provinces of Hamadan, Isfahan and Lorestan, but he later stated that "the sedition" and the number of protestors was around 1500 in individual locations and around 15,000 nationwide. Iranians living outside of Iran staged demonstrations in support of the protests in Iran. These rallies took place in cities such as Stockholm, Athens, Bern, and Cologne.