Iran Protests Enter Fourth Day as Crowds Chant ‘Death to the Dictator’

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – s

In the western city of Asadabad, in Hamadan province, demonstrators set fire to a building amid intense street confrontations. Unverified reports claimed the structure was linked to the Basij paramilitary forces. Iranian semi-state media outlet ISNA reported that a Basij officer was killed as security forces deployed tear gas and opened fire in an effort to disperse crowds that reportedly remained in the streets.

Across the country, chants once focused on inflation and currency collapse gave way to explicit calls for regime change. Video footage showed protesters in multiple cities shouting “Death to the Dictator” and “Death to Khamenei,” while others invoked Iran’s pre-revolutionary past by chanting support for exiled royal figure Reza Pahlavi, declaring, “This is the national slogan: Reza, Reza Pahlavi.”

In the southern city of Fasa, protesters attempted to storm the governorate building, according to state media and verified video footage. Demonstrators were seen battering gates and throwing objects before security forces fired toward the crowd. Authorities said four people were detained, three security personnel were wounded, and a 28-year-old woman identified as a protest leader was arrested. Military helicopters were later seen flying overhead in what opposition groups described as an intimidation tactic.

The unrest began Sunday among bazaar merchants in Tehran protesting soaring prices and the collapse of the rial, and has since spread to universities and cities nationwide. On Wednesday, Iran ground to a near standstill as businesses, universities, and government offices shut down across 21 of the country’s 31 provinces under a government-ordered closure.

Videos shared online by opposition networks showed violent clashes in Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Arak, and Khorramabad, with protesters chanting slogans such as “Basiji, IRGC, you are ISIS” and “Shame on you.” In Tehran’s bazaars, merchants confronted security forces as strikes intensified.

President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged the severity of the crisis by appointing former economy minister Abdolnaser Hemmati as the new head of Iran’s central bank following the resignation of Mohammad Reza Farzin. State media quoted Pezeshkian as warning that the post was “extremely difficult and complex” amid intense economic pressure. Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced new senior appointments within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, underscoring regime concerns over stability.

Iran’s economy has been under severe strain since the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018, after Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement during his first term. In 2025 alone, the rial has lost nearly half its value, while inflation reached more than 42 percent in December, fueling widespread anger over declining living standards.

The protests mark the most serious internal challenge since Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran earlier this year briefly rallied public sentiment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly chosen not to comment publicly on the demonstrations, citing concern that Tehran could exploit foreign statements to divert attention from its domestic crisis.

Despite government claims that conditions in some cities have returned to “normal,” demonstrations, strikes, and clashes with security forces continued late Wednesday, as chants of “Death to the Dictator” echoed across Iran, signaling a deepening challenge to the Islamic Republic’s authority.

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