Iranian students protest in Tehran and Isfahan as government offers dialogue

Student protests erupt at universities in the capital Tehran and the central city of Isfahan, decrying declining living standards following demonstrations by shopkeepers, local media report.

“Demonstrations took place in Tehran at the universities of Beheshti, Khajeh Nasir, Sharif, Amir Kabir, Science and Culture, and Science and Technology, as well as the Isfahan University of Technology,” reports Ilna, a news agency affiliated with the labour movement.

???? University of Tehran:

Students are now marching and chanting "Freedom, Freedom, Freedom" pic.twitter.com/zXuQQtZdzZ

— ???????????????? ???????????????? ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) December 30, 2025

Iran’s government said earlier it would seek dialogue with protest leaders after demonstrations in Tehran and other cities over a plunge in the currency’s value that has accelerated inflation, with the central bank chief resigning.

Protests, which included shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, were held on Sunday and Monday according to Iranian state media, the latest demonstrations in the Islamic Republic, where bouts of unrest have repeatedly erupted in recent years.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post late on Monday that he had asked the interior minister to listen to “legitimate demands” of protesters. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said a dialogue mechanism would be set up and include talks with protest leaders.

“We officially recognize the protests… We hear their voices and we know that this originates from natural pressure arising from the pressure on people’s livelihoods,” she says today in comments carried by state media.

The Iranian rial has been falling as the economy has suffered from the impact of Western sanctions, sinking to a record low on Monday at around 1,390,000 to the US dollar, according to websites monitoring open market rates.

“We have fundamental measures on the agenda to reform the monetary and banking system and maintain the purchasing power of the people,” Pezeshkian posted on X.