Chaos in Iran as protesters march for third day calling for 'death of dictator'
Chants calling for “freedom” and “death to the dictator” have been heard bellowing out across Tehran after the Iranian currency plunged to a record low.
Protests have erupted across Iran as anger grows at the Islamic regime and the country’s surging cost of living.
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Chants calling for “freedom” and “death to the dictator” were heard bellowing out across the capital Tehran as students, shopkeepers and bazaar merchants took to the streets for a third day running.
Police deployed tear gas as they clashed with protesters and dispersed crowds. Shops in the city's main streets and central bazaars have been shuttered off, with roads closed.
Footage shows crowds shouting "rest in peace Reza Shah" as they marched - a reference to the royal leader toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The current theocratic establishment has ruled the country ever since, but backlash against the regime, led by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has grown amid Iran's plunging currency and economic crisis.
Crowds have also been heard chatning “this is the final battle, Pahlavi will return” — a reference to the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, Reza Pahlavi.
Read more: Trump and Netanyahu meet for crucial talks on Iran and Gaza
A teenager from Iran sent me these videos with this message:
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) December 29, 2025
“I was terrified while filming them. Please share them and show the world that we, the people of Iran, do not want this regime.”
The protests in Iran began in Tehran and are now spreading to cities across the country.… pic.twitter.com/4xu2S5vh86
Mr Pahlavi, who lives in the US in exile, wrote on X: "I am with you. Victory is ours because our cause is just and because we are united."
"As long as this regime remains in power, the country's economic situation will continue to deteriorate.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of students have held protests at least four universities, according to the Fars News Agency.
Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in plain clothes reportedly trapped students at one of the universities and attacked them, but the number of injuries is unknown.
Protests first broke out on Sunday afternoon after mobile phone and electronics shopkeepers in Tehran shut their stores after the rial, Iran’s currency, plunged to a record low against the dollar.
State media outlets have insisted that shopkeepers are only marching for economic reasons and are not rallying against the theocratic establishment.
The Iranian regime said it "recognises the protests" and has insisted it will listen "with patience, even if it is confronted with harsh voices".
It also comes as the US, Israel and their European allies ramp up pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme.
Iran was said to be high up on the agenda during US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Monday.
Speaking following the meeting, Mr Trump said: "They've got a lot of problems: tremendous inflation, their economy is bust, their economy is no good, and I know people aren't so happy."
He added that he would be prepared to back another round of Israeli air strikes on Iran if the country accelerated its nuclear programme or rebuilt its ballistic missile stock.
The US backed Israel during its 12-day war with the Iranian regime in September, striking nuclear sites with its bunker-busting bombs to batter its uranium enrichment capabilities.