The catalyst for the widespread protests in Iran that began on 28 December 2025 and escalated during early January 2026 was the collapse in living standards and dire economic situation facing not just the working class but also sections of the middle class. The growing economic crisis, which has seen massive rises in inflation alongside the cutting of government subsidies for food and fuel, is primarily a direct consequence of the decades of economic sanctions imposed on Iran by imperialism.
The original small protests that began at the end of December intensified at the beginning of January, driven by the continuing collapse in the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, which can be directly connected to the oil blockade imposed by US imperialism on Venezuela and its kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro. The oil blockade and the seizing of so-called shadow oil tankers on the high seas by the US, aided by British imperialism, will have a dramatic effect on the ability of Iran to evade economic sanctions, trade in oil and gain hard currency. This is driving the collapse in the value of the rial which at the time of writing was trading at its lowest ever recorded value in USD.
The December street protests began in Tehran but then spread across the country; they were quickly manipulated and promoted by the forces of imperialism who made no attempts to hide their ‘regime change’ intentions. On 29 December, the day after the first protests, Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad posted a message in Farsi on its official social media accounts instructing Iranian protesters: ‘Go out together into the streets. The time has come. … We are with you. Not only from a distance and verbally. We are with you in the field.’ Then on 2 January President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: ‘If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.’ The same day former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo posted on X: ‘The Iranian regime is in trouble… Happy New Year to every Iranian in the streets. Also to every Mossad agent walking beside them.’
This imperialist propaganda has been broadcast daily into Iran with the US, Israel and Britain prominent in funding and running the operations.
US imperialism made a big attempt to make 8 January a pivotal moment with calls for massive demonstrations against the government and the promotion of Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s deposed Shah, as the face of the opposition. On the day armed groups appeared and attacked economic and religious targets, killing a number of security personnel and civilians. The attempt to foment an insurrection failed as the situation was controlled by the government, which then blocked all internet communication in an attempt to prevent further imperialist provocation.
It is undeniable that a large number of people have been killed in the demonstrations, many by state forces, a reality admitted by the government. However the figures are nowhere near the 30,000 claimed by sections of the imperialist media and opposition.
Working class and progressive forces in Iran have a difficult political terrain to negotiate: how to build opposition to a theocratic regime, which imperialism also wants to destroy, without supporting pro-imperialist forces. A statement put out by the ‘Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company’ supporting the protests says: ‘We believe that true liberation is only possible through the conscious and organised leadership and participation of the working class and oppressed people, not through the reproduction of old and authoritarian forms of power…The Syndicate also strongly condemns any propaganda, justification, or support for military intervention by foreign governments, including the United States and Israel.’
For us in Britain the task is much simpler: it is to build a movement that opposes imperialist attacks on Iran and in particular by British imperialism. In practice this means offering no support to the demonstrations currently taking place in cities across Britain which are dominated by supporters of Reza Pahlavi and prominently display the blood-soaked Zionist Israeli flag and Union Jack alongside the lion and sun flag of Imperial Iran.
As Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against Iran threatening a military strike, the US military buildup in the region has increased with the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier leading a naval fleet into the Arabian Sea. Britain has supported this build up by sending extra fighter planes to the massive US military base in Qatar.
No war on Iran! End the sanctions! Imperialism out of the Middle East!
Bob Shepherd
