The Genesis of Protests in Iran: Between Ideological Resilience and Socioeconomic Realities
By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam
27 January 2026
Protests in Iran arise from the tension between anti-imperialist ideology, harsh sanctions, economic mismanagement, regional ambitions, and a restless youth demanding justice and renewal within an Islamic framework
· Understanding how Iran’s post-1979 anti-imperialist identity both legitimizes defiance of the U.S.–Israel axis and obscures internal decay, corruption, and suppression of dissent.
· Analysis of economic paralysis caused by sanctions, structural mismanagement, inflation, unemployment, and the unfulfilled project of a self-reliant Islamic economy.
· Discussion of regional ambitions in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, and how external interventions and alliances drain resources and intensify domestic grievances.
· Examination of youth-led protests rooted in faith, frustration, and demands for participatory governance, accountability, and socioeconomic justice rather than rejection of Islam.
· Argument for an ijtihad of governance—renewing Islamic principles in economics, politics, and diplomacy to reconcile resistance with prosperity and restore moral legitimacy.
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Iran occupies a unique and paradoxical position in the modern world order. It stands as one of the few nations that has consistently defied the hegemony of the United States and Israel—two powers often perceived by its leadership as the embodiment of global injustice. This defiance has won Iran both admiration and isolation. While its resistance to Western domination epitomizes a quest for sovereignty, the internal fractures within Iranian society reveal a more complex picture—one where ideological steadfastness coexists with deep economic distress and generational dissent.
In recent years, waves of protest have repeatedly swept through Iran. While the government and its allies frequently dismiss these movements as foreign-sponsored or Zionist-engineered, reducing them solely to such conspiracies obscures the genuine grievances of the Iranian people. Inflation, corruption, unemployment, and power shortages have become part of daily life. The sanctions imposed by the West, particularly by the United States, have crippled the economy, deepened social inequality, and stripped away the optimism of youth who see little reward for their education, faith, or patriotism.
This essay examines the genesis of contemporary protests in Iran through a layered analysis of its ideological commitments, geopolitical strategies, and internal socioeconomic dynamics. It explores how Iran’s defiance of Western imperialism, though morally and politically laudable in some respects, has become entangled with its own internal contradictions—creating conditions ripe for domestic unrest.
The Anti-Imperialist Identity and Its Consequences
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran’s political identity has been anchored in anti-imperialism. Imam Khomeini’s revolutionary discourse positioned the United States as the “Great Satan” and Israel as its regional embodiment of injustice. To this day, Iranian state rhetoric denounces U.S. and Israeli policies as manipulative, coercive, and in defiance of international law. The historical context—especially the 1953 CIA-backed coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh—renders this suspicion neither baseless nor paranoid. Iran’s defiance, therefore, is as much a product of painful national memory as of ideological conviction.
Yet, opposition to Western domination has not insulated Iran from internal decay. The theocratic system that promised spiritual authenticity and social justice has, over time, evolved into an intricate power structure, where clerical elites and military-industrial networks dominate political and economic life. The revolutionary narrative that once galvanized the poor and inspired the oppressed now risks losing credibility among a population facing inflation rates that erode purchasing power and corruption that betray revolutionary ethics.
Thus, the very identity that once united the nation against foreign enemies now fuels domestic division. When the ruling elite frame all dissent as imperial conspiracy, legitimate grievances lose their voice. The ideological shield that once protected Iran’s sovereignty becomes a barrier separating the leadership from the realities of its people.
Economic Crisis and Structural Constraints
At the heart of Iran’s protests lies an economic paralysis shaped by both external sanctions and internal mismanagement. Western sanctions, particularly after the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), devastated Iran’s access to international banking and trade. Unable to integrate into the global capitalist system, Iran finds itself marginalized from conventional markets. The problem is not merely exclusion—it is the absence of an alternative.
Here lies a critical paradox. The broader Muslim world, fragmented and complicit with neoliberal systems, has failed to construct a viable alternative to Western capitalism. Iran’s dream of building a self-reliant Islamic economy has thus remained aspirational rather than operational. As sanctions tightened, Tehran was forced to sell crude oil at drastically reduced prices, often through clandestine channels. Revenues that could have been invested in infrastructure, welfare, and employment were instead diverted into sustaining regional influence campaigns, leaving domestic sectors starved of capital.
Inflation and unemployment have become chronic. Power blackouts, rising food prices, and a collapsing rial have made daily survival increasingly difficult. The educated youth, once proud of Iran’s scientific and technological progress, now struggle to find avenues for meaningful employment or expression. They inhabit a psychological contradiction: deeply nationalistic yet disillusioned with their government’s capacity to translate patriotic sacrifice into tangible well-being.
The Regional Ambition and Its Domestic Costs
Iran’s geopolitical ambitions have also contributed to its domestic discontent. The Iranian leadership has prioritized expanding influence across the Middle East, presenting itself as the vanguard of resistance against Zionism and Western imperialism. Its extensive involvement in Lebanon through Hezbollah, in Syria through support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and in Iraq through allied militias reflects this broader strategic agenda.
While such policies have enhanced Iran’s regional stature and deterrence capability, they have also come at a grave economic cost. The resources spent supporting allied regimes and non-state actors amounted to billions of dollars, even as citizens at home struggled with rising poverty and decaying infrastructure.
This contradiction is increasingly visible to ordinary Iranians. It is difficult to justify financing wars abroad when bread and electricity become scarce at home. The ideal of Ummah-based solidarity loses moral resonance when accompanied by domestic deprivation.
Moreover, Iran’s partnership with Russia, though strategically beneficial, further entrenches its dependency on external powers that pursue their own interests. Moscow’s support in military technology and energy cooperation has enabled Iran to withstand Western isolation, but it also tethers Tehran’s autonomy to Russia’s geopolitical calculus. The Iranian dream of leading the Muslim world thus comes at the cost of partial subordination within a different power bloc.
The Youth Factor: Between Faith and Futurity
No analysis of Iranian protests can neglect the generational dimension. A majority of Iran’s population is under thirty-five—a demographic that has grown up after the revolution, with little memory of the Shah’s tyranny or the moral euphoria of 1979. Their world is mediated not by revolutionary sermons but by social media, technology, and global cultural exposure.
This youth remains proud of its Islamic and Persian heritage but is impatient with the rigidities of the regime. They yearn for economic opportunities, political participation, and cultural openness. The government, however, views liberalization as a gateway to ideological subversion, often comparing it to the Glasnost and Perestroika reforms that preceded the collapse of the Soviet Union. From the regime’s perspective, allowing excessive openness would unravel the Islamic Republic’s moral fabric. From the youth’s perspective, suppression of individuality and expression stifles both personal and national potential.
The protests, therefore, are not necessarily anti-Islamic; they are anti-stagnation. The Iranian Street does not demand abandonment of faith—it demands renewal of justice, the very principle on which the Islamic Revolution was built. The call is for ijtihad not in theology alone, but in governance: a creative, courageous reinterpretation of Islamic principles in economic, political, and social spheres suitable for contemporary realities.
Ideological Rigidity and the Need for Renewal
The Islamic Republic’s ideological foundation draws heavily on Shia theology, especially the concept of resistance against tyranny. This theological resistance provided moral legitimacy to the revolution and continues to justify Iran’s defiance against global powers. Yet, when this same resistance is turned inward—to suppress critique and diversity within the ummah—it ceases to be emancipatory and becomes authoritarian.
Imam Khomeini’s project was not merely political; it was profoundly moral. He engaged in ijtihad—reinterpretation of jurisprudential traditions—to create structures capable of guiding an Islamic state in the modern era. However, over four decades later, Iran’s leadership often appears to invoke his legacy more as a dogma than as a dynamic method. The world that Khomeini faced in 1979 has transformed. Globalization, digital communication, environmental crisis, and youth consciousness demand new forms of engagement. A radical ijtihad—one that addresses economic justice, participatory governance, and social inclusion—is essential for Iran’s ideological survival.
Such renewal does not mean Westernization. Rather, it demands reclaiming the spiritual and ethical essence of Islam while unshackling it from bureaucratic and militarized interpretations. To continue invoking resistance without introspection only deepens alienation.
The Moral Economy of Protest
Protests in Iran are not purely political—they embody a deeper moral economy. The ordinary citizen protests not only against poverty or unemployment but against perceived betrayal of revolutionary ideals. When people risk imprisonment or death by raising their voices, they act from moral conviction that the system has deviated from justice. These protests are not against Islam; they are appeals to its ethical promise.
This is where foreign narratives often misinterpret Iran. Western media tends to frame Iranian uprisings as secular revolts seeking liberal democracy. In truth, they are more complex—driven by a dialectic of faith and frustration, loyalty and loss. Many protesters invoke Islamic symbolism even as they criticize clerical authority. Their resistance is simultaneously against economic deprivation and moral hypocrisy.
The government’s strategy of labelling dissenters as Zionist agents may temporarily consolidate loyalist ranks, but it erodes long-term legitimacy. To portray every protest as an external conspiracy is to deny the capacity of Iranian society to think, feel, and self-correct. The most dangerous threat to the Islamic Republic is not foreign aggression, but domestic deafness.
International Isolation and the Cost of Defiance
Iran’s enduring isolation further exacerbates domestic woes. Sanctions are now a form of economic warfare. Banks, industries, and even humanitarian imports face restrictions under the pretext of nuclear containment. Such policies from the West are indeed unfair and coercive, violating principles of collective human welfare. Yet, Iran’s own diplomatic choices have often intensified its predicament.
Its insistence on absolute ideological purity has limited diplomatic flexibility. While countries like China and India maintain pragmatic engagement with Western and regional powers, Iran’s posture remains polarized. This unyielding stance, though morally grounded, restricts opportunities for trade diversification and economic recovery. The failure to establish broad alliances within the Muslim world demonstrates both Iran’s political isolation and the fragmentation of Islamic unity.
Ironically, the more Iran tries to lead the Muslim world through defiance, the more alienated it becomes from Muslim societies that are economically entangled with Western systems. This isolation perpetuates the cycle of sanctions, poverty, and protest.
The Paradox of Resistance and Prosperity
Iran’s predicament mirrors an enduring paradox in revolutionary politics: the tension between principle and pragmatism. A state built on resistance cannot easily pivot toward economic liberalization without appearing to betray its values. Yet, prolonged resistance without corresponding prosperity undermines legitimacy.
The leadership views economic hardship as the price of dignity—resistance economy—but for the youth and working class, dignity without bread is hollow. When inflation devours salaries, when corruption denies fairness, and when ideological rhetoric replaces policy innovation, martyrdom loses its moral glow. A revolution must feed its children not only with slogans but with sustenance.
Iran’s success in developing indigenous defence technology, nuclear capability, and world-class universities demonstrates its potential for excellence. However, when such achievements coexist with social inequality, their legitimacy diminishes. A missile that can reach Tel Aviv means little to a family that cannot afford rice or fuel.
The Way Forward: Ijtihad of Governance
To transcend this impasse, Iran requires intellectual and political courage. It must embrace the spirit of ijtihad—not as theological revisionism, but as governance renewal. The premise is simple: Islam is not static; it adapts to changing conditions through reasoned reinterpretation. Khomeini himself invoked this principle when establishing the Wilayat al-Faqih system. His successors must now do the same in socio-economic and political domains.
This renewal could take several forms:
· Economic Diversification: Reducing dependency on oil exports by investing in technology, renewable energy, and small-scale industries.
· Participatory Reform: Opening controlled spaces for civic dialogue and youth involvement within the framework of Islamic ethics.
· Transparency and Accountability: Institutional mechanisms against corruption, grounded not in fear of punishment but in moral responsibility.
· Diplomatic Recalibration: Building partnerships across Asia, Africa, and Latin America beyond ideological binaries, to stabilize trade and political standing.
· Cultural Openness: Encouraging creativity, art, and education as expressions of faith rather than threats to it.
Such reforms do not weaken Islamic authority—they renew its vitality. Islam’s greatest strength was always its capacity for adaptation without assimilation.
Conclusion: Toward a Just and Self-Renewing Iran
The genesis of protests in Iran is neither a Western plot nor a purely domestic failure—it is the manifestation of a complex dialectic between ideology and reality. Iran’s defiance of U.S. and Israeli aggression remains morally justified when viewed against the long history of colonial and imperial exploitation. Yet, the moral courage to resist external oppression must be matched by moral responsibility toward internal justice.
A state cannot champion global resistance while neglecting the hunger of its citizens. Nor can it silence youth aspirations by invoking old slogans. The Iranian nation stands at a crossroads: either to persist in rigid defiance, risking internal erosion, or to embark on a journey of renewal grounded in faith, justice, and pragmatism.
To once again become the beacon of the Muslim world, Iran must perform a new ijtihad—one that redirects its revolutionary energy from external confrontation to internal reconstruction. The truest measure of resistance is not how long one withstands sanctions, but how well one upholds justice, equity, and human dignity within. Only then can Iran transcend the cycles of protest and repression to achieve a revolution of spirit that matches the promise of 1979.
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M.H.A.Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir.
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