We stand with the uprising of the people of Iran against dictatorship! No to imperialism, Zionism and monarchy!

The people of Iran are once again standing up with economic and social demands and in an existential struggle against dictatorship. Protests that began in Tehran on December 28 against the depreciation of the rial and the rising cost of living quickly spread across the country, turning into a new anti-regime uprising. This uprising constitutes the fifth wave of mass mobilization since 2017, and the mullah regime is once again trying to suppress the protests through repression and violence.

The current popular uprising is of great significance as it is the first major nationwide mobilization since the regime survived by drowning the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” uprising of late 2022 in a sea of blood. At the same time, this uprising is also critical in that it comes after what has been referred to as the “Twelve-Day War,” following the heavy attacks carried out last year by Zionism and the United States.

Imperialism, Zionism and the mullah regime

The difficulties in trade caused by the volatility of the rial against the dollar and its extraordinary loss of value triggered protests and shop closures by small and medium-sized merchants in the Tehran bazaar at the end of December. These actions quickly spread in the capital to working people overwhelmed by the rising cost of living and the erosion of purchasing power. These actions that sprouted in Tehran, combined with the fresh memory of the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” uprising, mobilized women and other social groups as well, spreading to various universities and other cities and taking on the character of a popular uprising.

The fact that the protests began in the Tehran bazaar, which symbolizes one of the mullah regime’s core social bases, led the authorities—unlike in past experiences—to initially respond in a more moderate tone. While President Pezeshkian stated that the protests were legitimate and should not be suppressed by violence, the head of the Central Bank was dismissed. However, as the protests continued to spread, the regime reverted to its traditional rhetoric and stance toward demonstrators. Khamenei described the protesters as “saboteurs” and “mercenaries of foreign powers,” and as of January 11 it is estimated that the number of people who have lost their lives in the protests has reached 200, while those detained have approached 2,500. Due to the regime cutting off the internet and communication networks since the middle of last week, there are difficulties in obtaining precise information about the protests.

Meanwhile, U.S. imperialism under the Trump administration, Zionism, pro-Shah monarchists and other right-wing, fascistic sections are carrying out intense activity aimed at usurping the people’s legitimate demands and actions. The fascist Trump states that he “supports the protests” and that he would intervene in the country if the mullah administration attacks the people. The genocidal Netanyahu declares that they are “in solidarity with the Iranian people’s demands for freedom and justice.” Reza Pahlavi, the son of the ousted Shah—who is nourished by imperialism and Zionism, and openly sided with the U.S. and Israel during the “Twelve-Day Wars”—calls on the people to take to the streets and overthrow the regime. Pro-Pahlavi media funded by Zionism are running a campaign by sharing distorted protest videos to which they add pro-Shah slogans.

It is quite clear that they want a puppet government that would be under the absolute control of imperialism and Zionism, and that they are trying to use reactionary, corrupt, so-called opposition circles for this purpose. It is also a fact that there are pro-Shah, racist and fascistic sections among the protesters and that, unfortunately, they are more visible compared to past mobilizations. However, portraying the masses of people who are once again taking to the streets at the cost of their lives as supporters of imperialism, Zionism or the monarchy serves precisely the creation of a false dichotomy desired by the mullah regime.

The mullah regime, for its part, is trying to perpetuate its rotten existence by using this pretext to suppress the people’s legitimate demands with blood. The regime is imposing the cost of economic sanctions and the imperialist embargo on the working people through increased austerity and social cutbacks, pushing misery to an unbearable level. At the same time, these economic policies of the mullah regime are deepening Iran’s dependence on Chinese imperialism. Meanwhile, regime representatives mired in corruption and decay, along with the oligarchic sections around them, are multiplying their wealth through dual exchange rates, black market and devaluations. Thus, it is not the country’s ruling classes—who constantly trumpet anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist rhetoric—who pay the price of the sanctions, but the working and the poor people.

While the mullahs continue to accuse protesters of being “agents of foreign powers,” the “Twelve-Day War” laid bare, with all clarity, where the real agents are and the extent of the rot within the regime. Through regime officials it had turned into agents, Zionism humiliatingly assassinated the regime’s top leaders during the military operations it carried out in June 2025. The mullah regime’s failure to protect even its own people and leaders from the attacks of Zionism and imperialism was illustrative of the depth of its decay.

For precisely this reason, the mullah regime is experiencing the greatest loss of legitimacy and is passing through the weakest period in its history. The fact that the protests began in the Tehran Grand Bazaar, regarded as the heart of the regime, and that mass mobilizations are taking place in cities such as Mashhad and Qom—considered the regime’s strongholds—shows the loss of prestige the regime is suffering even within its own social base.

Meanwhile, a segment of the global left continues to side with this rotten, bloody dictatorship—claiming that the mullah regime is anti-imperialist and part of the “Axis of Resistance”—and remains silent in the face of legitimate actions of the people of Iran. The mullah regime has long since deserved to be consigned to the dustbin of history, not only for oppressing the peoples of Iran but also for persecuting the peoples of the region through its sectarian, racist and instrumentalizing counterrevolutionary policies.

The solution lies not in the past, but in building the future!

The peoples of Iran are once again in the streets to take their fate into their own hands and put an end to the dictatorial regime. Despite the fact that thousands of people have been killed by security forces in the mobilizations since 2017, the peoples of Iran are once again on the political stage to win their economic, social and democratic rights. The most fundamental problem of this process, once again, is the absence of a political alternative that would represent the demands of workers and oppressed peoples. The peoples of Iran are currently being forced into a straitjacket between the existing dictatorial regime and the restoration of the Shah’s dictatorship, which they overthrew in 1979 through a magnificent uprising.

The Shahists, imperialism and Zionism promise the peoples of Iran nothing other than re-subjugation. The legitimate demands of the peoples of Iran can only be realized through the development of their own self-organization—just as in the example of the councils of 1979—and the construction of a revolutionary leadership that will represent these demands on the political stage. In this direction, the task of the world left should be to develop solidarity with the struggle of the people of Iran on a basis independent of all ruling powers.

Workers’ Democracy Party

11 January 2026