Iran
A woman chants slogans as she holds up a poster of the late commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard expeditionary Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2020 in Iraq, during a ceremony commemorating his death anniversary at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026.
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Demonstrations sparked by Iran's struggling economy have spread into rural provinces, with at least seven people killed. The protests, the largest since 2022, have expanded beyond Tehran. The fatalities occurred in four cities, mainly home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group. The unrest is fueled by economic pressures, inflation, and currency fluctuations. In Azna, intense violence was reported, with videos showing fires and gunfire. Iran's government, under President Masoud Pezeshkian, has signaled a willingness to negotiate but faces challenges as the rial depreciates. The protests also include chants against Iran's theocracy.
