Iran: Amid speculations about Khameini’s likely escape, protests spreads to over 100 cities
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Amid speculations that Iran’s top spiritual leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Hosseini Khomeini, 86, may, like his Syrian ally, the then Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, flee to Russia, popular protests against the theocratic regime have spread to more than 100 cities across multiple provinces of the Shia-majority country, the media reported on Thursday.
With this, Iran’s ongoing crisis, which started on December 28, 2025, with a strike by merchants of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, has deepened. Unconfirmed reports said a few policemen and security personnel also joined the protesters at some places.
Nearly 40 people were reported killed, hundreds injured, and over 2,000 arrested during the clashes, as hyperinflation surged further and the Iranian rial continued to slide to record lows.
According to reports, massive protests over Iran’s deepening all-embracing crisis have spread to 111 cities and towns. The ongoing protests, which entered their 12th day on Thursday, were triggered by shopkeepers shutting their shops in Tehran to protest the weakening currency and soaring inflation. The Iranian rial has dipped to a record low against the United States dollar, while inflation has risen to around 40 percent over the past year.
Videos and reports showed demonstrations turning violent in several cities, including Qazvin, Bandar Abbas, Mashhad, Abadan, Aligudarz and Lordegan. In Qazvin, north-west of Tehran, large crowds were seen chanting slogans such as “Death to the Dictator”, a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The BBC cited Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency as reporting that two police officers were killed during protests in Lordegan on Wednesday.
Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Jafar Qaempanah said President Masoud Pezeshkian had ordered security forces not to take action against peaceful protesters.
“Those who carry firearms, knives and machetes and who attack police stations and military sites are rioters, and we must distinguish protesters from rioters,” Qaempanah said.
Earlier, Ayatollah Khamenei said authorities must “speak with protesters” but added that “rioters should be put in their place.”
The remarks followed a warning from US President Donald Trump, who said Washington would intervene if Iranian security forces killed peaceful protesters. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran has for long been facing severe economic strain amid sweeping sanctions and diplomatic pressure from the US and its allies over its nuclear programme.
According to the World Bank, Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) could shrink by 1.7 percent in 2025 and 2.8 percent in 2026.
Data from the Iranian Statistics Centre showed that currency depreciation has driven inflation sharply higher. Inflation rose to 42.2 percent in December, with food prices increasing 72 percent and health and medical items rising 50 percent year-on-year, the media reported.
