Bazaar Uprising-No. 5
Despite the full mobilization of repressive forces, on Monday night, December 29, protests expanded from Tehran’s bazaar and central streets to universities, various neighborhoods, and other cities. The cry of ‘Death to the dictator’ has resonated throughout the nation.
At the Tehran University dormitory, students chanted slogans such as ‘Students would rather die than be humiliated’ and ‘Fear us, fear us, we are all together.’ Fearing that people would join the students, intelligence and security agents sealed the dormitory gates and surrounded it.
The uprising by Tehran’s merchants quickly spread to various cities, including Hamedan, Sarasiyab-e Malard, Dargahan-e Qeshm, Ahvaz, Zanjan, Kerman, Karaj, and Marlik. In Ahvaz, Kerman, and Zanjan, defiant youth demonstrated with chants of ‘This is the year of blood, Seyyed Ali (Khamenei) will be overthrown,’ ‘Khamenei is a murderer, his rule is illegitimate,’ ‘Khamenei, damn your deceit,’ and ‘Iranians would rather die than be humiliated.’ In Hamedan, repressive forces brutally opened fire on the defenseless crowd, but the defiant youth bravely stood their ground. In Marlik, Karaj, protesters chanted, ‘Cannons, tanks, fireworks, the mullahs must get lost.’
Security forces were immediately deployed to protest focal points in Tehran and other cities to prevent gatherings, but the reaction of the enraged populace often paralyzed their ability to act. In some cases, protesters forced the repressive forces to retreat with chants of ‘Disgraceful, disgraceful.’
In a statement, truck drivers declared their full support for the bazaar uprising, emphasizing that ‘the problems of the Bazaar and drivers have a common root’ and that ‘the unity of the Bazaar and drivers is the only way to overcome this situation, and we will stand with the people with all our might.’
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
29 December 2025