Iranian anarchists: Uprising is “genuine self-organisation by ordinary people”
Interview with members of Anarchist Front, a collective spreading information about events in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan
~ Gabriel Fonten ~
The uprising in Iran has been ongoing for over a week. It is not only an economic protest, but also a practical revolt against the entire logic of state power. People have disrupted control of the streets, destroyed the symbols of repression, and stood against bullets. This is precisely anarchy in action: paralysis of the government machine from below, without the need for immediate replacement with new power.
The regime responded with direct shooting, raids on hospitals and mass arrests, but the crackdown has failed so far. Sporadic and floating tactics (burning cars, breaking cameras and blocking dispatch routes) have moved power from the centre to the sidelines and created a space for real self-management: mass donation, hospital defense, and direct display of information without intermediaries.
To find out more, we sent some questions to the Anarchist Front, a collective spreading information about events in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.
How widespread is support for the strikes among the general population?
Support for radical strikes and protests in Iran is extremely widespread. Out of Iran’s thirty-two provinces, only two or three have not participated in these strikes and protests.
How would you characterise the current general strike in Iran? What caused the strike?
At present, strikes and protests are unfolding simultaneously, and the situation is escalating rapidly. What began as a peaceful shutdown of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar by shopkeepers turned violent after security forces intervened. From there, protests quickly spread to cities across the country.
At the heart of this unrest lies unbearable economic pressure and rampant inflation that has made everyday life impossible for large segments of society. The first strikes emerged among mobile phone sellers, driven by the chaos of fluctuating exchange rates and the soaring cost of imported goods.
These protests are entirely spontaneous and self-organized. There is no leadership, no political faction directing them, and no central command issuing orders. This is anger rising directly from the ground.
At the same time, the son of Iran’s former king is once again attempting to capitalize on the situation. Whenever protests erupt in Iran, he rushes to claim them as his own. While it is true that he has some supporters inside the country, the vast majority of his base resides abroad. Beyond royalists, decades of repression by the Islamic Republic have effectively destroyed the possibility of other organized opposition forces emerging inside the country.
How are protests being organised and what groups are looking to benefit from them?
This wave began with the closure of markets in response to the catastrophic collapse of the rial, extreme inflation, rising taxes, and the regime’s complete inability to manage the economic crisis. It rapidly transformed into accumulated rage against the entire structure of power. Slogans such as “Death to Khamenei” and “Basij, Sepah, ISIS — you are all the same” reflect the depth of this anger.
The root causes are the total economic collapse of the regime, stemming from systemic corruption, massive military expenditures, and foreign sanctions. However, sanctions are merely an excuse the regime uses to justify repression.
Organization is largely horizontal and decentralised: through social media networks, local calls by bazaar merchants, and the organic spread of street-level rage—without a central leader or guiding party. This is precisely its strength: genuine self-organisation by ordinary people against domination.
However, this is where the danger lies. Exiled opposition groups—particularly royalists aligned with Reza Pahlavi—have entered the scene and are attempting to hijack this popular uprising. Through calls issued from abroad, they inject slogans like “Long Live the Shah” in an effort to steer protests toward the restoration of another hereditary dictatorship—one that previously crushed people through SAVAK and bloody repression, and now seeks to reclaim power through diplomatic smiles and empty promises.
Beyond these groups, anarchists, segments of communists, parts of liberals, and republicans also support this movement and stand to benefit from the fall of the Islamic Republic.
Meanwhile, sections of the Islamic Republic itself are attempting to portray this uprising as an internal reformist movement, in order to preserve the regime in a modified form.
Could you introduce yourselves as a collective: where did you emerge from, what is your purpose, how are you organised?
The Anarchist Front is the newest form of a path that began in 2009—a path marked by many rises and falls, from The Voice of Anarchism to the Federation of the Era of Anarchism. Today, with a renewed structure that brings together experienced comrades and new forces, we once again place emphasis on self-organisation and radical struggle—both in raising political awareness and in actively encouraging and supporting struggles on the ground.
The Anarchist Front is founded on the principles of solidarity, anti-authoritarianism, and relentless resistance against all forms of domination. We do not seek to reform the existing order; we seek to destroy it—so that no power, no class, and no borders remain. Our struggle is rooted in the historical protests and resistance of people in the geographies of Iran and Afghanistan, while at the same time remaining deeply connected to the global anarchist movement.
While our primary focus is on Iran and Afghanistan, our horizon goes far beyond borders. We strive for a world where freedom, equality, solidarity, and genuine mutual aid are realised—without any form of rule or exploitation. For us, anarchism is not merely a theory; it is a way of life, a mode of action, and the process of building a world free from power, repression, and lies.
A lot of your coverage focuses on violence against women. Do you see this as part of the current strike?
Today, women, students, and youth are actively present in the streets. They formed the core social body of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Therefore, yes—the current strikes are aligned with the demands of the Mahsa movement and with women’s rights struggles.
We believe this movement, while preserving the spirit of Woman, Life, Freedom, has also created an opportunity for more passive and conservative segments of society to enter collective struggle against the Islamic Republic and unite with others.
Our primary concern—beyond confronting the criminal Islamic Republic, which killed more than seven people in our geography just last night—is confronting royalist currents that have infiltrated the movement and are exploiting the situation. Their misogynistic tendencies are clearly visible in both their discourse and political practice.
What is the state of anarchism in Iran and Afghanistan, and what challenges do activists face?
Threats, summons, beatings, death threats, imprisonment, and sexual violence are realities anarchists have faced over the past two years and even before that.
In the past five months alone, two of our comrades have been arrested and four others summoned. Conditions inside Iran are extremely dangerous for us. At present, one of our direct comrades from the Anarchist Front, Afshin Heyratian, is imprisoned in Evin Prison. Other anarchist comrades are imprisoned in prisons in Yazd Province.
We hope that through struggle we can free our comrades and create conditions of safety for ourselves.
Do you see a risk of foreign intervention in Iran? What would be the result?
As mentioned earlier, royalists and supporters of Reza Pahlavi are deeply dependent on Western powers. Along with other sections of the opposition, they have created conditions in which Western governments—under the guise of helping the Iranian people—openly discuss military attacks or media intervention in Iran.
Trump and Netanyahu have repeatedly threatened Iran with military action, particularly during moments of active protest.
We take this opportunity to state our absolute and unconditional opposition to any military occupation or foreign intervention by Western states in Iran—at any level and in any form.
Just as we were present during the twelve-day Iran–Israel conflict in the fields of reporting, mutual aid, and resistance inside Iran, we insist that if foreign intervention occurs, we have both the will and readiness to confront it.
We are a local force, composed of horizontal and diverse networks of anarchist activists who previously organized together within the Federation of the Era of Anarchism. We are not primarily a militarist group. However, depending on future developments, we may adopt new positions and prepare ourselves accordingly.
We do not view Iranian society as a whole as eager for foreign intervention.
Finally, how can people overseas keep up to date with events in Iran and Afghanistan?
We provide real-time reporting and organising in Persian. Our reporters are in direct contact and physically present in major Iranian cities. At the end of each day, the Anarchist Front’s news and journalism platform publishes a comprehensive daily report in Persian.
In addition, we publish daily news in Italian, Spanish (Argentina), Arabic, English, and occasionally in German and Swedish. A platform also exists for comrades from non–Persian-speaking countries, including an international coordination group. We receive reports from around the world and act as an anarchist political force offering solidarity and support during ongoing crises.
Regarding Afghanistan and Tajikistan: our comrades are present inside Afghanistan, and we also have comrades in Tajikistan. Similar to Iran, we engage in both news work and practical action in these regions.
Our final demand is the continued awareness of free people of all tendencies across the world. We ask them not to turn their eyes away from the specific conditions of the Middle East and North Africa—especially Iran and Afghanistan—and to resist false information, misleading narratives, and grand narratives that erase society, its dynamics, and its demands from political analysis.
We also call for solidarity and mutual cooperation.
Iran protests over economy spread to dozens of cities; 20 dead, nearly 1,000 arrested
Yenişafak English AA
05/01/2026, Monday
AAFile photo
Nationwide protests in Iran, driven by severe economic hardship, have entered their eighth day, spreading to at least 78 cities. A human rights monitor reports 20 fatalities and nearly 1,000 arrests as security forces clash with demonstrators, drawing international calls for restraint.
Widespread civil unrest over a deepening economic crisis has entered its second week in Iran, with protests now reported in dozens of cities and towns. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the demonstrations, which include strikes and university actions, have resulted in at least 20 deaths and the arrest of nearly 1,000 people.
The scale and human cost of unrest
In a detailed report covering the eight consecutive days of protests, HRANA stated that unrest has been recorded in at least 222 locations across 26 provinces. The agency confirmed that the 20 fatalities include citizens aged 16 to 45, as well as one member of the security forces. At least 51 people have been injured, many by pellets and plastic bullets. Among the roughly 990 documented arrests are minors between 15 and 17 years old, with mass detentions reported in cities like Isfahan, Shiraz, and Yazd.
Economic grievances and official response
The protests were initially triggered by soaring inflation, a collapsing national currency, and widespread job insecurity. While some officials have blamed foreign interference, domestic civil society groups like the Workers’ House of Iran have stated that citizens have a legitimate right to protest their economic conditions. Police Chief Ahmadreza Radan announced the start of "targeted arrests of protest leaders," accusing them of incitement.
International reactions and principle of sovereignty
The escalating situation has drawn international concern. The European Union called for maximum restraint and dialogue, while Amnesty International demanded an end to violence. For nations like Türkiye, which prioritizes regional stability and respects the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs, the events highlight the complex challenge of addressing legitimate socio-economic grievances within the framework of national sovereignty and internal security. The coming days will be critical in determining whether the protests subside or intensify further.
Missing $8 Billion in Shadow-Fleet Oil Revenue Primes Iran for Revolt
Early readers of the Maritime Executive magazine’s Nov/Dec edition will have been pre-warned about Iran’s Velayat-e Faqih regime being on the brink of imminent collapse. As protests and street riots continue, it is evident, as predicted, that the prime mover bringing Iranians onto the street are the economic hardships that the general population is now suffering. Iranians have tried to get on with their lives, ignoring what they dislike about the regime. But with inflation, unemployment, rising food prices, shortages of water and electricity, and noxious air quality, ordinary Iranians can no longer bear the deteriorating conditions, and despair then turns to blaming the regime and street protests.
The religious leadership in Iran has always sought to placate the population by providing heavy subsidies for basic commodities. But implementing this policy has become harder and harder in recent months, especially as hardliners refuse to compromise and keep diverting resources to the much-reduced Axis of Resistance and to nuclear and missile programs. There hasn’t been enough in the bank both to pay for Iran’s external posturing and to cover the domestic budget. Without government money feeding into the economy – in the form of subsidies, employment, wage increases, infrastructure spending and investment – then ordinary Iranians suffer deteriorating living standards, particularly in rural areas. Of late, that drop in living standards has become extreme, creating hunger and acute shortages of basic necessities.
Although this trend has been felt by Iranians for some time, matters came to a head politically in recent weeks, when the draft government budget was put before the Iranian majlis – and was rejected by lawmakers because it planned to put even more burdens on the population.
It has now emerged that one of the principal reasons for the revenue shortages necessitating price and tax increases and effective wage cuts has been the shortfall in revenues expected from oil sales.
Revenues generated from oil sales have been under pressure for some time, with sanctions forcing Iran to offer larger and larger discounts to purchasers worried about being listed by the US Treasury and others. China has provided no relief, using Iran’s difficulties not to aid a supposed ally but instead to demand larger and larger discounts. Worse, to sell its oil, Iran has had to rely on a network of trusted third-party shipping brokers and oil traders registered in supposedly friendly countries. But it turns out that figures such as Hussein Shamkani and Babak Zanjani, closely connected to the regime or related to senior regime figures, have been pocketing up to 38 percent of revenues, failing to pass the money on to the government.
The head of the Budget Committee in the Iranian Majlis has told law-makers in recent weeks that of $21 billion in oil sales made between March and November this year, the government only received $13 billion, with the rest purloined by the regime’s “trusted” middlemen. Gholamreza Tajgardoun also told the Majlis that he wasn’t expecting the government to get more than $8 billion from oil sales next year, such being the pressure of sanctions. So matters are scheduled to get worse, and particularly so if, as some analysts believe, ship and cargo seizures become more frequent next year.
For ordinary Iranians, the huge amount of money being stolen by regime insiders has at least one benefit: key regime leaders may be inclined to flee the country with their ill-gotten gains to live a less stressful (and more secular) life in exile, rather than put up resistance to the street protests growing in momentum. If insiders abandon the regime and flee, security force defections will increase and the regime’s internal security defenses will begin to crumble.
For the US Treasury and the shipping community there is a simple message: the missing billions indicate that sanctions are working, and the penalties for avoidance are a sufficiently effective deterrent.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.
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