THIS is with reference to the report ‘Israeli PM provokes Tehran again as protests enter second week’ (Jan 5). The growing unrest in Iran marks a critical and alarmingly volatile phase that the inter-

national community cannot afford to ignore. Protests that began last month among traders in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar have rapidly escalated into a nationwide movement involving students, truckers and bus drivers.

These demonstrations are the most significant since the 2022 uprising, and are driven by an extreme economic crisis that has seen the Iranian currency fall to an all-time low, with food inflation soaring above 70 per cent. The situation is further compounded by chronic shortages of water and energy, pushing ordinary citizens to take to the streets.

The regime’s response has been characteristically fractured between conciliatory signals and brutal repression. While President Masoud Pezeshkian has offered dialogue to discuss “legitimate demands”, the real power remains with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose security apparatus has already returned to a policy of arrests, secret executions and live fire.

The appointment of hardliners to key positions within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) underscores a defiant resolve to maintain the clerical order through force.

Furthermore, the external landscape is increasingly dangerous. The snapback of sanctions in August and military strikes on nuclear facilities in June last year have not quelled the regime’s nuclear or missile ambitions; instead, they have made Tehran more determined to protect its ballistic missile deterrence. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently seeking the support from the United States for a fresh offensive against these capabilities, a move that risks inflaming a regional war rather than providing long-term stability.

For true stability and peace, the Iranian government must realise that militaristic solutions and maximum pressure have always failed to silence a population that has lost faith in its currency and leadership. The legitimate aspirations of the people of Iran that are related to economic dignity and human rights must be respected.

Muhammad Faizan Ali
Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2026