OPINION: Iran’s uprising rejects both crown and turban

What is unfolding across Iran is not another episodic protest driven by prices or sanctions. It is a nationwide uprising shaped by historical memory, economic collapse and political exhaustion after nearly half a century of clerical rule. Iranians are not asking for relief payments or marginal reforms; they are rejecting dictatorship itself. The Islamic Republic is confronted by a confluence of pressures: a collapsing currency, demonstrations erupting in major urban centers, and a leadership weakened by military and strategic setbacks. The current demonstrations, now encompassing 193 cities, signal that the populace is fed up — not just with economic hardship, but with a regime that has proved resistant to meaningful governance and reform.

Economics matter, but hardship alone does not explain the breadth or persistence of today’s unrest. Iranians have endured inflation and isolation before; what distinguishes this moment is that fear has fractured, and political alternatives have begun to take shape. Widespread slogans like “Death to the oppressor — be it the shah or the leader” capably illustrate that this uprising goes beyond mere economic grievance. It’s a clarion call for popular sovereignty that seeks to dismantle the theocratic structure itself.

Iran is a resource-rich country, sitting among the world’s largest holders of oil and gas reserves. Despite this wealth, 47 years of clerical rule have led to the near collapse of the middle class, extreme poverty and severe environmental degradation. These destructive outcomes cannot be attributed solely to external sanctions. They stem primarily from chronic mismanagement, systemic corruption and the militarization of the economy by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC has not only dominated key industries but has also diverted national wealth toward domestic repression and foreign conflict.

The regime’s response has followed a familiar and increasingly brutal pattern. Over the past year, reports indicate a surge in executions, especially of political prisoners, alongside the use of live ammunition against protesters. Senior security posts are filled with figures implicated in international terrorism, demonstrating that coercion — not reform — remains the state’s primary mechanism of control. The Iranian leadership has criminalized basic human rights, as evidenced by their brazen attacks on hospitals treating injured protesters, a gross violation of medical neutrality.

Importantly, the defining feature of this uprising is its political clarity. Protesters are not simply nostalgic for a different era but are focused on eliminating autocracy altogether. This clarity explains why protests have spread from peripheral regions to major cities, where the state is often strongest. The calls for elections, rule of law and equal citizenship reflect a burgeoning understanding among the Iranian populace that systemic change is imperative.

Furthermore, the international context has changed. Iran’s regional deterrence network is weakening, and key allies are becoming constrained. Global scrutiny of the regime has intensified, with warnings against violent repression adding uncertainty to Tehran’s calculations. As these dynamics evolve, the regime’s sense of impunity appears to be eroding.

Iran stands at a critical juncture. The ongoing uprising offers an opportunity for the Iranian people to reshape their future, rejecting not just the clerical regime but the entire fabric of despotism that has stifled their hopes for decades. The struggle is for a democratic, peaceful, secular and nonnuclear Iran, which remains a distant dream but one that is closer than it has been in decades.

In conclusion, the voices rising from the streets of Iran call not just for respite from suffering but for an entirely new political paradigm. The time for meaningful change is now, as the Iranian regime’s veneer of stability cracks under the weight of popular dissatisfaction.

Saeed Shams was born in Iran and spent his teenage years in the city of Abadan. He works as an engineer in Albuquerque.