Timeline of protests in Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution

Tehran, Iran – Protests and strikes person dispersed crossed Iran implicit the past week amid a accelerated economical diminution and grievances implicit aggregate ongoing crises.

Shopkeepers took to the streets and closed down businesses successful downtown Tehran connected December 28, sparking demonstrations that person present been recorded successful astir of Iran’s 31 provinces.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Iran’s Khamenei says rioters ‘must beryllium enactment successful their place’ amid protests
• list 2 of 4Syrian delegation meets Israelis successful Paris amid sovereignty breaches
• list 3 of 4Venezuela aft Maduro: Oil, powerfulness and the limits of intervention
• list 4 of 4Israel extends Gaza concern beyond ‘yellow line’ successful north, bombs south

The state has a agelong past of fashionable protests implicit a assortment of issues, and saw its past shah toppled successful 1979 by an Islamic gyration that brought the incumbent theocratic constitution to power.

Here’s a look astatine erstwhile nationwide and immoderate smaller protests aft the gyration and however they were handled to connection a fuller representation of what is transpiring now.

Early post-revolution protests (1979 to precocious 1990s)

Women’s protests started little than 2 weeks aft the revolution, with thousands marching successful Tehran to reason Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s decree mandating the hijab, oregon Islamic headscarf covering.

The decree followed a prohibition connected alcohol; the separation of men and women successful universities, schools, pools and beaches; and limitations connected broadcasting euphony from vigor and television.

The alarmed women were met with threats arsenic good arsenic pro-state mobs who attacked them with sticks and stones. The hijab yet became mandatory and noncompliance punishable by instrumentality respective years later, creating a pillar of the Islamic Republic and the basal of decades of tensions with the nationalist that culminated successful the Mahsa Amini protests of 2022 and 2023.

As differences grew among camps that led the gyration to success, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was formed and deployed to ace down connected protests and governmental dissent called by opposing camps, particularly the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) and their supporters.

The MEK yet turned to assassinations and bombings, and was designated a “terrorist” outfit by the establishment. Many members were executed oregon exiled, predominantly during the last years of the devastating eight-year warfare with neighbouring Iraq, which invaded Iran nether Saddam Hussein successful the 1980s.

After the warfare and during astir of the 1990s, lone sporadic unrest was recorded successful respective cities, including successful Mashhad successful 1992, Qazvin successful 1994, and the Tehran suburb of Eslamshahr successful 1995, mostly tied to economical grievances and abrupt terms jumps.

Iranian protesters show successful Tehran, Iran, successful 1978 [File: AP]

Student and reformist protests (1999-2003)

In July 1999, Tehran was rocked by monolithic student-led protests triggered by the closure of a reformist paper by hardliners.

The media censorship outraged students who supported President Mohammad Khatami’s alleged liberalisation and reforms docket and his “dialogue among civilisations” sermon to boost planetary ties.

Police and paramilitary Basij forces affiliated with the IRGC raided the dorms of the students astatine nighttime and brutally attacked them successful their sleep, beating them and adjacent reportedly mounting rooms connected fire.

People and students took to the streets successful Tehran, and the demonstrations past dispersed to assemblage campuses successful Tabriz, Mashhad, Isfahan and different cities.

By the clip the protests were quelled by information forces days later, aggregate students were dead, dozens injured, and hundreds jailed.

The judiciary decided nary of the information forces progressive successful the unit would beryllium imprisoned. One constabulary serviceman was ordered to wage a good for stealing an electrical shaver. Khatami – present sidelined for years similar each different presidents aft his tenure – lone lamented “riots” allegedly aimed astatine derailing his reforms, and expressed his beardown enactment for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The contented besides received planetary attention, with a representation of a pupil holding up the bloodied garment of his person going viral.

Leaderless pupil protests were renewed adjacent the 2003 day of the archetypal demonstrations, but were clamped down connected successful confrontations and arrests for astir a week.

In precocious June 2007, nationalist choler erupted overnight successful Tehran and cities crossed the state aft populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad imposed an abrupt petroleum rationing strategy to curb imports, which led to radical forming agelong queues astatine substance stations.

A fig of substance stations and immoderate slope branches were acceptable alight by aggravated protesters earlier calm was mostly restored a time later.

A protester holds up the bloody T-shirt of a person successful Tehran successful 1999 [Kamran Jebreili/AP]

Green Movement (2009-2010)

After the June 12 statesmanlike election, erstwhile the hugely divisive Ahmadinejad was re-elected to signifier a 2nd government, Iran saw by acold its largest protests, which besides grabbed planetary attention.

Millions of Iranians took to the streets successful Tehran and large cities crossed the state aft the authorities insisted Ahmadinejad won successful a landslide. Protesters, immoderate donning greenish attire utilized arsenic the run colour of reformist campaigner Mir Hossein Mousavi and his allies, formed peaceful protests of unprecedented scale, asking, “Where is my vote?”

But aft weeks of demonstrations, Basij militias and constabulary progressively attacked rallies with batons, teardrop state and yet unrecorded ammunition. Dozens were confirmed killed by quality rights monitors, but the authorities refused to denote authoritative decease tolls.

The decease of 1 young woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, shook the federation and turned her into an planetary symbol. The 26-year-old doctrine pupil was filmed bleeding connected the pavement successful Tehran aft being changeable successful the thorax portion protesting, with humor pouring retired of her rima and nose.

State tv and authorities rejected eyewitness accounts that Agha-Soltan was changeable by information forces, claimed the video was fabricated with “propaganda” astatine enactment to crook opinions, and tried to marque her parents corroborate their mentation of events.

The protests yet stopped successful aboriginal 2010 aft respective 1000 radical were arrested, partial media blackouts imposed, and net and mobile networks throttled. The movement’s figureheads were aboriginal enactment nether location arrest, with Mousavi inactive confined to this day. The authorities person said they see the Green Movement not arsenic morganatic dissent, but arsenic a “sedition”.

Iran’s net crackdown importantly intensified amid the Green Movement, with galore apical planetary services specified arsenic Twitter, Facebook and YouTube blocked successful the aftermath on with thousands of websites.

In aboriginal 2011, respective Iranian cities saw solidarity protests with Arab Spring demonstrators successful Egypt, Tunisia and different countries. There was besides a uncommon objection and onslaught successful Tehran’s Grand Bazaar successful October 2012 aft the Iranian rial mislaid much than 60 percent of its worth against the United States dollar wrong weeks.

Overt thoroughfare protests were constricted betwixt 2013 and 2015, erstwhile mean President Hassan Rouhani came to powerfulness with the committedness of decreasing tensions with the West and improving people’s livelihoods wounded by United Nations sanctions imposed implicit Iran’s atomic programme.

Supporters of defeated reformist statesmanlike campaigner Mir Hossein Mousavi transportation a ample greenish emblem done the assemblage successful Tehran successful 2009 [File: Getty Images]

In the last days of 2017, a fewer 100 demonstrators started chanting slogans against the authorities of Rouhani implicit economical hardship successful the northeastern ultraconservative metropolis of Mashhad.

This took spot against the backdrop of a governmental combat betwixt hardliners and reformists arsenic Iran’s currency plummeted implicit US President Donald Trump’s threats to retreat from the landmark atomic woody reached with satellite powers successful 2015 and enforce sanctions.

Within days, the protests dispersed to much than 100 cities crossed the country, with radical chanting against the constitution amid choler implicit the outgo of living, unemployment, and determination policies specified arsenic backing and arming the alleged “axis of resistance”.

An officially undetermined fig of radical were killed aft weeks of protests, mostly protesters changeable successful provincial towns, with galore others detained. The authorities besides blocked Telegram, the messaging app that continues to stay vastly fashionable successful Iran contempt years of online crackdown.

Iran saw a surge of sectoral protests successful the aftermath of that upheaval, with motortruck drivers launching nationwide strikes implicit debased wages and substance costs passim 2018. Teachers and educators organised sit-ins and peaceful rallies successful astir provinces to request unpaid salaries and amended backing for schools.

In summertime 2018, h2o shortages provoked nationalist demonstrations arsenic well, with radical taking to the streets successful the occidental Khuzestan province, lone to beryllium met by information forces firing pellets and unrecorded rounds, sidesplitting and wounding respective people.

There were besides biology demonstrations, with farmers successful cardinal Isfahan protesting the diversion of h2o from the iconic Zayandeh Rud River, astatine times blocking roads with tractors.

The tense concern again exploded into abrupt nationwide protests successful November 2019, erstwhile the authorities accrued petroleum prices up to 200 percent overnight.

People began chanting successful Tehran and closing down highways during the wintertime cold. Iranians from each walks of life, particularly the moving people and strained youth, joined the ranks successful the superior and different places specified arsenic Mahshahr successful Khuzestan.

Within days, IRGC units and riot constabulary fired unrecorded ammunition, h2o cannon, and teardrop state to enactment an extremity to demonstrations successful metropolis aft city.

Iranians were dealt a large daze erstwhile the state, for the archetypal time, imposed a near-total net blackout that near tens of millions of radical without a transportation for adjacent to a week arsenic the unrest continued.

Amnesty International said astatine slightest 304 protesters were killed, but Reuters quality bureau cited an unnamed Interior Ministry authoritative arsenic saying the decease toll was person to 1,500. After months of the authorities refusing to merchandise immoderate authoritative casualty figures, a parliamentary study acknowledged lone astir 230 deaths arsenic authorities blamed overseas influence.

There were smaller aftershocks and caller triggers implicit the adjacent 2 years, with demonstrations recorded implicit the IRGC’s downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with 2 missiles and officials’ denial of the incidental for days, on with much h2o protests successful Khuzestan and farmers’ strikes successful Isfahan.

Mahsa Amini uprising (2022-2023)

Millions crossed Iran erstwhile much expressed their choler and tendency for alteration crossed the state aft 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died successful constabulary custody aft being arrested for alleged noncompliance with mandatory hijab rules.

She was taken by constabulary portion walking retired of a metro presumption connected abrogation with her household successful Tehran, and died aft collapsing astatine a “re-education centre” tasked with making women recognize however they indispensable formal to debar being punished by the state. Authorities insisted she had a changeable and suffered from pre-existing wellness conditions, but her household said she whitethorn person been beaten.

Outraged Iranians protested for months successful streets and universities, predominantly astir the contented of women’s rights but besides astir broader topics specified arsenic highly constricted personal, social, net and press freedoms, arsenic good arsenic deteriorating economical conditions.

“Woman, life, freedom” became a main slogan, and galore radical took disconnected their headscarves and switched to their attire of prime successful the aftermath, openly defying the “morality police” and hardliners calling for punishments and passing a draconian hijab law.

This UGC representation posted connected Twitter reportedly connected October 26, 2022 shows an unveiled pistillate lasting connected apical of a conveyance arsenic thousands marque their mode towards Aichi cemetery successful Saqqez, Mahsa Amini’s hometown successful the occidental Iranian state of Kurdistan, to people 40 days since her death, defying heightened information measures [File: UGC/AFP]

Huge demonstrations, sometimes gathering arsenic galore arsenic tens of thousands, formed successful countries astir the satellite successful enactment of the protests arsenic well. Many focused connected recognising younger Iranians joining the ranks of the protesters and losing their lives.

Authorities erstwhile much traced “enemy” hands to the unrest, particularly those of the US, its Western allies, Israel, and adjacent Saudi Arabia, and said “rioters” would look the harshest punishments.

Hundreds of protesters were killed, much than 20,000 radical arrested, and aggregate radical executed successful transportation to the unrest, with astatine slightest 1 publicly hung from a crane successful Mashhad to deter others.

Most of the protests implicit the years person been leaderless, meaning nary azygous oregon determined radical of organisers has emerged, adjacent arsenic foreign-based individuals and entities proceed to claim partial leadership and reason the constitution without enjoying wide nationalist enactment wrong Iran.

Many of the cardinal issues presented by protesters person not been resolved oregon person gotten worse, laying the grounds for the ongoing protests successful 2026 successful the aftermath of the 12-day warfare with Israel and the US.