Telegraph 06 January 2026 – Iran is approaching a decisive historical moment. After 47 years of dictatorship, corruption, and systematic bloodshed, the ruling clerical regime has reached a dead end. It can neither reform itself nor respond to the most basic needs of society. At the same time, the Iranian people are no longer willing to endure repression, poverty, and humiliation.
The protests that erupted in Tehran’s bazaar at the end of 2025 and quickly spread to dozens of cities reveal the depth of public anger across the country. Millions are exhausted by the collapse of their living standards, relentless price increases, and the plundering of national wealth to finance the Revolutionary Guard and foreign adventurism.
The regime’s response has once again been violence. According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, more than 2,200 executions were carried out in 2025, including political prisoners. In recent protests, security forces have opened fire on demonstrators in several cities. At the same time, Ali Khamenei has elevated notorious figures within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, sending a clear message that the regime sees survival only in repression, terrorism, and militarisation.
Iran today is facing overlapping crises. Chronic mismanagement and the diversion of resources to nuclear and missile projects have left major cities struggling with water, electricity, and gas shortages. Inflation officially stands near 43 percent, while the cost of essential goods has risen by over 100 percent. The rial continues its dramatic collapse, losing roughly 70 percent of its value in the past year alone. Extreme poverty, environmental degradation, and tens of thousands of deaths annually from air pollution have pushed society to the edge.
Regionally, the regime has also been weakened. The fall of the Assad dictatorship and severe setbacks to Tehran’s proxy forces have stripped the ruling establishment of key pillars of support. Internally, its social base has eroded, as shown by widely boycotted elections and even regime-linked polls indicating overwhelming public dissatisfaction.
Iran has entered an exceptional phase. The clerical system can no longer return to any form of stability. Resistance networks are expanding across the provinces, and young people are increasingly at the forefront. Today, 18 political prisoners face execution simply for alleged ties to the (PMOI) of Iran.
In the streets, protesters chant, “Death to the dictator,” and “Neither Shah nor Leader,” rejecting both monarchical and religious tyranny. They demand a republic based on popular sovereignty and democratic rights.
Decades of Western attempts to encourage reform from within have failed. Appeasement has not moderated the regime; it has emboldened it. At the same time, foreign military intervention is not the answer. Iran’s freedom will not be imported. Regime change is the responsibility of the Iranian people and their organised resistance.
The (NCR) of Iran is committed to transferring power to the people’s elected representatives within six months of the regime’s overthrow, through free elections for a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution and oversee a provisional government. Our vision is clear: separation of religion and state, full equality for women, recognition of the rights of Iran’s nationalities, and the abolition of the death penalty.
The international community must not repeat past mistakes by standing aside. It should recognise the right of the Iranian people to confront the IRGC and to overthrow a regime that rules only through violence. Every barrel of oil sold by this regime is converted into repression at home. Those revenues must be cut. Europe, in particular, should finally designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
The Iranian people are paying in blood for their freedom. The world must choose whether it stands with them or with their oppressors.