By: Artin Safai, SFU Student
On December 28, 2025, merchants in Tehran’s Grand Baazaar organized a strike to protest against economic instability and currency depreciation. As of January 11, 2026, there have been major protests all over Iran. In a recent escalation of violence against protestors, the government shut down almost all internet access and telephone lines — completely alienating protestors from the outside world and each other. Death tolls have increased drastically during this shutdown and while there is no precise data available, what is clear is state violence has escalated. While the protests’ roots were economic, exacerbated by US sanctions and the Iranian government’s own economic mismanagement, the streets of Iran’s cities quickly filled with Iranians demonstrating dissatisfaction with the oppressive regime’s policies. This has resulted in a reinvigoration of anti-Islamic Republic sentiment. While Iranian people are fighting in the streets for democracy, anti-democratic opposition forces have claimed leadership of these protests.
Today, the struggle for Iranian democracy is fought on two fronts. On one side, there’s the important battle against the authoritarian, anti-democratic regime of the Islamic Republic being fought by the brave youth, women, and workers of Iran. On the other side, there’s the battle against right-wing extremism that uses nostalgia to bring about an undesirable future for Iranians: a Western-backed government with repressive policies for ethnic minorities, democratic political forces, and the working class.
The Iranian regime’s narrative that protests are being fuelled entirely by foreign forces is a fallacy. A lack of opportunities, rampant corruption, and tight control on civil liberties have been choking the younger generation to a point of revolt. Generations of Iranians have taken to the streets to bring about political change in the country several times over the past four decades. Women, while comprising approximately 72% of unemployed university graduates, find it disproportionately difficult to integrate into the labour force and other fields. This is due to the patriarchal nature of Iran’s socio-political life, partly driven by the government’s failure to alleviate disparities between men and women and materialize gender equality through policy. Workers and merchants are also unhappy as wages shrink, economic stability wanes, and purchasing power plummets daily.
On the other hand, a joint effort by Western and diaspora media outlets has set out to impose a false ideological hegemony on the nature of protests in Iran. Outlets like Manoto, BBC Persian, Iran International, and some other media outlets in the West have been pushing Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran’s previously toppled monarchy, as the de facto leader of the resistance movement against the Islamic Republic. Not only is this a false narrative, it also creates a false duality between monarchy and Islamic Republic that silences democratic voices.
Many Iranians and their political groups have been at the forefront of the fight against the tyranny of the Islamic Republic. Statements, from The Union of Arts Students in Azad University of Tehran, Union of Bus Drivers, and Isfahan University students explicitly reject foreign meddling and monarchy. Yet through various tactics and some real support in Iran’s diaspora population, the monarchist camp — the far-right political force against the Islamic Republic and closely tied to Israel’s genocidal state — has falsely claimed political leadership.
While Pahlavi and his supporters are riding the wave of protests with the promises of future liberal democracy in Iran, The Emergency Booklet, a guide to post-Islamic Republic political transition in Iran published by Pahlavi’s circle, raises some troubling questions. The booklet puts Pahlavi in the centre of power in this “emergency” period of transition — with no stated end date. There will be two choices: constitutional monarchy or republican democracy. A predetermined, vague choice with no participation of the people in its framework or organization.
Even if we disregard the shortcomings and power grabs, the idea of a constitutional monarchy such as the ones we see in Europe is a hollow idea in Iran’s context. The reason countries such as the United Kingdom have constitutional monarchies is due to a centuries-long struggle waged by democratic forces against monarchic authority. Such a government cannot be created overnight.
The only viable option for Iranians in their struggle for democracy and self-determination is the establishment of people’s agency within the country. This would create space for democratic dialogue in a post-Islamic Republic Iran. This path aligns neither with the interests of the oppressive regime currently in power, nor the Western-backed forces seeking foreign meddling and intervention. It is crucial that both Iranians and non-Iranians be vigilant against narratives being manufactured by forces that do not seek democracy and people’s power in Iran.
No, Iranians in Iran do not seek foreign intervention or bombardment; they do not invite foreign meddling back into their country, or seek a return to monarchy.
The solution is clear: a coalition built around democracy, human rights, economic justice, and progressive principles. Through unity, Iranian democratic and anti-Monarchist forces must distinguish themselves from a movement that is not willing to hear them nor accept them. Progressives are not on the fringes of Iran’s revolutionary movement; they are only being portrayed as such. Only through unity and organization can we fight the two-front battle against right-wing extremism — whether theocratic or monarchic.
