Iran has been convulsed by a new wave of nationwide protests that began on December 28, 2025, as ordinary Iranians poured into the streets to protest an economy in freefall and a government that has shown nothing but contempt for its people. What started with shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar quickly spread to students, oil workers, and markets across dozens of cities, with crowds openly chanting for an end to the Islamic Republic.
The regime responded in the old, brutal way — cutting internet and phone service across the country and unleashing security forces, including units loyal to the IRGC, to beat and shoot their own citizens. Human rights observers and medical workers have reported dozens killed and thousands detained in a crackdown that looks strikingly like Iran’s playbook from previous uprisings. The blackout and mass arrests are not signs of control but of a regime losing legitimacy and panicking.
Videos from the streets — the few that made it out before the blackout — show a strikingly diverse movement: students, bazaar merchants, and even industrial workers stopping production and joining strikes. Calls for Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah, to be part of a transition highlight the depth of political discontent and the protest movement’s willingness to embrace alternatives to the mullahs’ rule. This is not a fringe moment; it is a broad-based expression of exhaustion with clerical tyranny.
Conservatives who value human liberty should be straightforward: if people are risking their lives to throw off tyranny, the instinct should be to stand with them morally and diplomatically. The regime’s brutality only exposes how fragile its grip has become when confronted with citizens demanding bread, dignity, and accountability. Those who still excuse or rationalize the regime’s actions as merely “internal” are on the wrong side of history.
Washington’s response so far has been uneven, with international leaders issuing condemnations while Tehran doubles down on repression and blames outside enemies. Weak or half-hearted statements will be ignored by those who run Iran’s security apparatus, so real pressure — targeted sanctions and diplomatic isolation of regime figures responsible for violence — is the only language they understand. If the United States wants to be credible, words must be matched with actions that punish brutality and protect dissidents.
We must also be mindful of the wider regional context: the unrest follows a year of economic collapse and simmering conflict that has already rattled markets and neighbors. Any collapse or violent suppression inside Iran has consequences for stability across the Middle East, for energy markets, and for the security of U.S. allies. Policymakers should prepare for instability while making clear that bloodshed will carry costs for Tehran’s rulers.
For those who care about freedom, the moral clarity is obvious: oppose the theocrats, support the brave Iranians demanding change, and use every lawful lever to protect civilians and expose atrocities. That means amplifying verified reporting, supporting independent information channels to pierce the blackout, and coordinating with allies to pressure the regime’s security organs. Silence and complacency will only embolden the worst elements of Tehran’s leadership.
This moment is dangerous, unpredictable, and potentially historic. A proud conservative worldview is rooted in a belief that free people, when given a chance, will choose liberty over oppression — and when they act, the respectable impulse is to back them with conviction, not equivocation. The world should watch, demand accountability, and prepare to help Iranians seize a future free from clerical rule.
