{"id":626,"date":"2026-01-11T21:49:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=626"},"modified":"2026-01-11T21:49:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:49:50","slug":"irans-pezeshkian-promises-economic-reforms-as-protests-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=626","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Pezeshkian Promises Economic Reforms as Protests Grow","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a> has pledged to revamp the country\u2019s struggling economy, saying his administration is prepared to listen to public grievances after nearly two weeks of escalating nationwide protests.<\/p>\n

Speaking in a televised interview on state media on Sunday, Pezeshkian struck a conciliatory tone, acknowledging public frustration while insisting his government remains committed to addressing deepening economic hardships. At the same time, he accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to destabilize the country.<\/p>\n

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Economic Crisis Sparks Widespread Demonstrations<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The unrest began in late December after Iran\u2019s currency sharply depreciated, compounding years of economic strain. Rising prices, high inflation, and declining purchasing power quickly triggered protests across multiple cities.<\/p>\n

What initially began as demonstrations over living costs has since evolved into broader antigovernment protests, posing one of the most serious domestic challenges for Iran<\/span><\/span><\/strong> in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people have legitimate concerns,\u201d Pezeshkian said. \u201cWe must sit with them and address those concerns. But we cannot allow violent groups to destroy society under the guise of protest.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Government Draws Line Between Protesters and \u2018Rioters\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Iranian officials have repeatedly sought to differentiate between peaceful demonstrators and what they describe as armed or foreign-backed groups.<\/p>\n

According to Al Jazeera\u2019s correspondent in Tehran, Tohid Asadi, senior officials have acknowledged that public anger is rooted in genuine economic pain, including soaring prices and the rapid devaluation of the national currency.<\/p>\n

However, Pezeshkian accused Washington and Israel of attempting to \u201csow chaos and disorder\u201d by steering parts of the unrest, urging citizens to distance themselves from what he labeled \u201crioters and terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Iran\u2019s<\/p>\n

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Largest Protests Since Mahsa Amini Movement<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The demonstrations are the most significant since the 2022\u20132023 protest wave triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>, who died in custody after being detained for allegedly violating Iran\u2019s mandatory dress code for women.<\/p>\n

State media reported that at least 109 members of the security forces have been killed since the protests began, underscoring the scale and intensity of the clashes.<\/p>\n

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Warnings Issued as Tensions Rise With Washington<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf reinforced the government\u2019s stance on Sunday, telling lawmakers that Iran recognizes citizens\u2019 right to peaceful protest but will confront armed opposition.<\/p>\n

A former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, Qalibaf also issued a warning to the United States after US President Donald Trump<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a> threatened military action if Iranian authorities continue using lethal force against demonstrators.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Iran is attacked, Israeli territory and all US bases and vessels will be legitimate targets,\u201d Qalibaf said, as some lawmakers reportedly chanted anti-American slogans.<\/p>\n

Trump had earlier said Washington was \u201cready to help\u201d Iran, floating the possibility of military strikes while ruling out deploying ground troops \u2014 comments widely seen as an escalation.<\/p>\n

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Crackdown Continues Amid Internet Blackout<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Iran\u2019s Interior Ministry has claimed the unrest is easing, though a nationwide internet shutdown has continued for more than 60 hours, according to monitoring groups. Iran\u2019s attorney general has warned that those involved in the violence could face severe penalties, including capital punishment.<\/p>\n

Human rights organizations report that at least 51 protesters have been killed by security forces, including nine children, with hundreds injured and large-scale arrests carried out across the country.<\/p>\n

As Pezeshkian promises economic reform and dialogue, Iran remains gripped by uncertainty \u2014 caught between mounting public anger, economic hardship, and intensifying pressure from abroad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to revamp the country\u2019s struggling economy, saying his administration is prepared to listen to public grievances after nearly two weeks of escalating nationwide protests. Speaking in a televised interview on state media on Sunday, Pezeshkian struck a conciliatory tone, acknowledging public frustration while insisting his government remains committed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":627,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=626"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":629,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions\/629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}