Iran’s nationwide protests entered their eleventh consecutive day on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 expanding in scale and intensity as strikes spread across key economic sectors and confrontations between demonstrators and security forces escalated in dozens of cities.
What began on December 28 as protests over worsening economic conditions has evolved into a broad political movement calling for the overthrow of the ruling establishment. On Wednesday, markets, universities, industrial centers, and even prisons became focal points of unrest, signaling a widening challenge to state authority.
Major bazaars in Tehran, Tabriz, Shiraz, Rasht, Qazvin, and several other cities remained closed, deepening economic disruption. A significant development came as workers at the South Pars gas refineries—central to Iran’s energy industry—joined the nationwide strike, raising concerns over potential long-term impacts on government revenues.
Street demonstrations intensified throughout the day and into the night. In cities including Abadan, Borujerd, Bojnurd, and Qazvin, large crowds reportedly forced security forces to retreat from public areas. In Lordegan and parts of Kermanshah province, security forces opened fire with live ammunition, leaving several protesters critically injured, according to reports. Despite the use of lethal force, demonstrations continued.
Western cities such as Gilan-e Gharb and Mehran saw organized marches toward government buildings, with demonstrators chanting slogans in solidarity with victims of recent crackdowns. In Shiraz, protesters erected barricades to counter water cannons and tear gas deployed by security forces, turning several neighborhoods into scenes of prolonged standoffs.
Universities across the country also emerged as centers of resistance. Students in Tehran, Zahedan, Urmia, Qom, Zanjan, and Kermanshah held rallies and night-time protests, denouncing mass arrests and chanting slogans linking student activism to the broader uprising. One slogan widely reported was, “Evin has become a university, Tehran has become a prison,” referencing the detention of student activists.
Public defiance appeared to grow as ordinary citizens intervened in attempted arrests in cities such as Kerman and Kermanshah, helping injured protesters and blocking security forces. Observers noted these incidents as signs of a diminishing atmosphere of fear.
In a rare display of prison-based protest, political prisoners in Tehran’s Evin Prison and Ghezel Hesar Prison reportedly joined the uprising by chanting slogans, singing the national anthem, and issuing statements supporting demonstrators outside the prison walls.
Opposition figures abroad responded to the events by condemning the use of force against protesters and praising the persistence of demonstrators. Meanwhile, authorities have not issued comprehensive official casualty figures or statements addressing the breadth of the unrest.
As night fell on January 7, protests were reported in cities stretching from Rasht in the north to Zahedan in the southeast, underscoring the nationwide scope of the movement. With strikes expanding and confrontations continuing, Iran faces one of its most sustained and geographically widespread waves of unrest in recent years.
