In the closing days of 2025, a new wave of mass protests has emerged in major cities across Iran. These demonstrations are driven by intensifying economic hardship, rising inflation, and widespread political dissatisfaction. Importantly, these crises are not solely economic in nature; they also reflect the longstanding political oppression experienced by the peoples of Iran. Decades of systemic exclusion and grave human rights violations against Iran’s non-Persian peoples, particularly Kurds, Western Balochs, Ahwazi Arabs, and Southern Azerbaijanis. These oppressed nations have long been subjected to systematic political marginalisation, economic underdevelopment, cultural repression, and the disproportionate use of security and military force.
During the Jina (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement, Kurdish and Baloch regions were among the most heavily affected by state violence, arbitrary arrests, and lethal repression. The current protest wave follows the same trajectory: as demonstrations widespread in response to worsening economic and political conditions, security forces have once again resorted to excessive and unlawful force against protesters, reinforcing a cycle of repression that continues to fuel countrywide instability.
In Iranian Kurdistan, the new wave of protests has once again been met with targeted and disproportionate violence. Kurdish civilians in the provinces of Ilam and Kermanshah have joined demonstrations driven by worsening economic and political conditions, only to face a familiar pattern of repression by the Islamic Republic’s security forces. As during the Jina (Women, Life, Freedom) movement, the authorities have responded in Kurdistan with lethal force, including the deliberate use of live ammunition against peaceful protesters. Reports from the region indicate that units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have killed multiple civilians and injured dozens in locations such as Malekshahi and Kermanshah. This pattern of violence reflects the entrenched securitisation of the Kurdistan region and the disproportionate vulnerability faced by Kurdish civilians amid countrywide unrest.
UNPO warns that Iran is entering a critical period, where worsening economic conditions, increasing social fragmentation, and political exclusion are contributing to an intensified countrywide systemic crisis. What initially emerged as economic protest has evolved into a broader expression of public grievance that cannot be neutralised through oppression, administrative reshuffles, or short-term political maneuvers. This trajectory reflects long-standing structural failures, compounded by the persistent oppression and exclusion of Iran’s non-Persian peoples from political participation.
To understand the ongoing situation in Iran, one has also to acknowledge the diversity and plurality of the national structure in Iran and the systematic exclusion of non-Persian peoples from decisions impacting their political, economic, social and cultural development. Western Baloch, Ahwazi Arabs, Kurds, and Southern Azerbaijanis—all UNPO members—have historically been at the forefront of protest movements advocating for their fundamental rights, including self-determination, while simultaneously bearing the heaviest burden of oppression, economic underdevelopment, and securitisation. Therefore, UNPO emphasizes that any political outcome from the current crisis that disregards unrepresented peoples, their rights, and their representative structures will perpetuate instability rather than resolve it.
UNPO reaffirms that non-violence, genuine political representation, and peaceful and sustainable transition of Iran into a constructive member of the international community are essential foundations for stability in the country and the wider region. Any durable solution must be grounded in full respect for the rights of minorities and unrepresented peoples such as the UNPO members, peoples from Kurdistan, Awazi Arabs, Baluchistan and South Azerbaijan, and in the recognition of Iran’s pluralism and diversity. Stability cannot be achieved through force, elite-driven negotiations, or geopolitical bargaining, but only by respecting the country’s diversity and through inclusive political processes that enable all peoples to meaningfully participate in shaping their political future.
UNPO condemns the violent suppression of peaceful protests, which constitutes a clear violation of human rights and international law, and urges Iranian authorities to immediately halt such actions and release all detained protesters.
