Cartoon by Kianoush Ramezani

Anti-Government Protests Spreading Across Iran

By Amir Daftari

Newsweek: Protests across Iran have entered a second week, spreading to cities nationwide as public anger over economic hardship and political grievances continues to mount.

The unrest has drawn international attention after President Donald Trump warned Iran on Sunday that it would get "hit very hard" by the United States if more protesters die during demonstrations, raising the stakes as Iranian security forces confront crowds in multiple regions.

The demonstrations, which began as localized economic protests, have expanded geographically and politically, with rights groups reporting deaths, mass arrests and escalating clashes between protesters and state forces.

Newsweek has contacted the State Department and Iran's Foreign Ministry for comment...

Demonstrations have been reported across large parts of Iran, with protest activity documented in dozens of cities and provinces since the unrest began. The accompanying map, compiled by the Institute for the Study of War and AEI's Critical Threats Project (ISW-CTP) illustrates how the demonstrations have expanded beyond Tehran into regional and provincial centers.

ISW-CTP has recorded around 300 different protests in Iran since December 28. Each point on the map is assigned a confidence level—high, moderate or low—reflecting the likelihood that a protest occurred on a specific day and in a specific location. The confidence ratings are intended to convey analytical certainty and are not tied to protest characteristics such as crowd size or the regime’s response.

The unrest has been accompanied by a growing death toll. According to data verified by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 19 civilians and one member of the security forces have been killed over the past eight days.

HRANA also reported at least 51 people injured, with most injuries caused by pellets and rubber bullets as security forces moved to disperse demonstrators...

While economic pressures initially sparked the unrest, the demonstrations have increasingly taken on a broader political character, with students, laborers and other social groups joining protests across multiple provinces. As grievances expand beyond cost-of-living concerns and economic conditions show little sign of improving, Iran faces an uncertain period ahead.

How authorities respond in the coming days is likely to determine whether the demonstrations subside or evolve into a more sustained challenge to the government amid already heightened regional tensions.