December 29, 2025
Yesterday's protests by some of the merchants of Alaeddin Passage and Charso Commercial Complex in Tehran are a clear and understandable reaction to the dire economic conditions, the continuous fall in the value of the national currency, and the unbridled instability of the market. At the same time, labor strikes have been ongoing in parts of the country for several days. The street protests of these hardworking citizens are a cry against the policies that have taken the livelihoods of millions of people hostage and imposed an uncertain future on society.
According to published videos and reports, today, the protests of merchants and marketers continued in different parts of the market and the center of Tehran. The Bein-al- Haramin market and parts of the Ahangaran and currency exchange markets were closed, and shops were closed and protest gatherings were formed on Lalehzar, Naser Khosrow, South Saadi, Istanbul, Amir Kabir intersections, and the Charsouk area. The protests also spread to the Yaftabad Furniture Market and the Crystal Sellers’ Market in Tehran. Security forces responded by firing tear gas and attacking motorcyclists at the gatherings in Lalehzar, Bagh Sepahsalar, and Jomhuri Street. According to state media, slogans with political themes were also chanted during these protests. At the same time, the change in the chairmanship of the Central Bank and the issuance of a statement by the Revolutionary Guards against the protests reflect the depth of the economic crisis and the regime’s concern about the spread of social discontent.
The Left Party of Iran, while expressing solidarity with the demands of the strikers, believes that the current crisis is the result of years of mismanagement, structural corruption and suppression of independent organizations, and exclusion of the people from the economic decision-making process in the country’s domestic affairs, as well as the pursuit of adventurous, ideological, and hostile policies in foreign relations. In such circumstances, it is natural that different segments of society, from businessmen and workers to teachers, retirees, nurses, the unemployed, women, youth, and national minorities, turn to protest to defend their right to a dignified life.
The way out of this impasse lies not in scattered and isolated protests, but in the conscious and simultaneous solidarity of different segments of the people, especially workers and indigent. Every trade, every social group, and every class, by proposing its own specific and fair demands, can form part of the social pressure necessary to change the current destructive paths.
The Left Party of Iran calls on all social, trade union, and civil forces, parties, and political organizations that support the interests of different segments of the people to strengthen the people's struggle against poverty and deprivation and against the Islamic Republic, as the main cause of the current miserable situation, in every possible way. Without social solidarity and without the struggle for the right to organize, assemble, and freely express economic, social, and political demands, there is a risk that the regime will once again mislead the people’s legitimate demands through repression, threats, or empty promises. We must be vigilant and not let the security forces prepare the space for repression with deviant slogans.
The Left Party of Iran stands with the protesters and supports any collective movement that is aimed at social justice, freedom, human dignity, and a real improvement in the living conditions of the people. We believe that the continuation and expansion of trade union, political, and social protests and their interconnection can push the regime back from the accumulated demands of the people and pave the way for fundamental changes and ultimately the end of the Islamic Republic.
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran
Monday, December 29, 2025
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