Radio Farda:

Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets this week to protest against the riding cost of living and overall malaise engulfing the country's economy,

Protests over spiraling inflation and the plummeting value of the local currency, the rial, began with shopkeepers in Tehran closing their doors on December 28. The uprising has continued each day, spreading to several universities in the capital, as well as to other areas around the country.

Iranian security forces have responded at times with volleys of tear gas and batons, though President Masud Pezeshkian has promised that the government would make "new decisions" that he said would improve the economic situation of Iranians.

Shirin Ebadi, who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy and safeguard human rights in Iran, spoke with RFE/RL's Radio Farda by phone on January 1 on what is driving her compatriots to confront the authorities and what makes these protests different from previous ones.

Radio Farda: How significant are the protests in Iran in your view and what message are the protests are sending?

Shirin Ebadi: The recent protests reveal one clear reality: many Iranians have decided that the current establishment must end -- at any cost and as soon as possible -- before the country they love is further destroyed. Iran is facing severe shortages of clean air, water, and energy, while people struggle to survive.

As even the president has acknowledged, the country sits on immense wealth, yet its people are hungry. Responsibility for this situation lies squarely with the establishment -- from the core centers of power to its powerless officials, including the president himself. All share the blame for the poverty and misery imposed on a once-prosperous nation.

Radio Farda: How different are these protests from previous ones?

Ebadi: What distinguishes this wave of protests from previous ones is the growing realization within the establishment that repression and killing no longer work. Using force against people who have nothing left to lose would only intensify public anger -- like pouring gasoline on a fire.

People have nothing to lose, they can't stand it anymore. People's tables are empty and hunger has pressured people so much that they have given up on life. The establishment understands it and it doesn't want to pour gasoline on the fire.

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