From major capitals to small diaspora communities, people across the globe have poured into the streets to back a wave of protests in Iran that began with anger over economic collapse and quickly evolved into a broader challenge to the country’s leadership.

The demonstrations inside Iran were initially sparked by the dramatic fall of the rial, which wiped out savings, drove up the cost of basic goods, and deepened already severe hardship for ordinary families. What began as scattered gatherings over rising prices and unemployment soon turned into some of the most widespread anti-government protests the country has seen in years, with crowds denouncing corruption, mismanagement, and political repression.

As images and testimonies filtered out of Iran, often through shaky mobile phone videos and encrypted messages, solidarity rallies began to form in cities around the world. In Berlin, protesters wrapped in green, white, and red flags marched past government buildings, chanting slogans in Persian, German, and English. Many carried portraits of detainees and victims, holding them aloft as a reminder that the cost of dissent in Iran is often paid in blood and years behind bars.

In Istanbul, a city that has long served as a crossroads for Iranian exiles, demonstrators gathered near consular buildings and central squares. Some had recently fled Iran and spoke of friends and relatives still on the streets back home. Others were long-settled members of the diaspora who said they felt compelled to return to activism as the scale of the crackdown became clear. Police monitored the rallies closely, but the crowds remained largely peaceful, their chants focused on calls for freedom, accountability, and an end to violent repression.

In Washington, protesters assembled near the White House and along Pennsylvania Avenue, urging foreign governments not to ignore the bloodshed. Many participants were second-generation Iranian Americans who said they had grown up hearing stories of earlier waves of protest and exile. Now, they said, they were watching a new generation in Iran risk everything to demand change. Handwritten signs in English and Persian called for political prisoners to be freed and for the international community to keep attention on Iran even after the headlines fade.

In Paris, the demonstration took on a distinctly historical tone. Many in the crowd waved flags of the former Iranian monarchy, a symbol that has re-emerged among some opposition groups in exile. The march wound its way toward the Trocadero, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, where speakers addressed the crowd from a makeshift stage. Some called for a secular, democratic republic; others openly advocated for the return of the exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, arguing that he could serve as a unifying figure in a post-Islamic Republic future. The diversity of banners and slogans reflected the fractured but fervent nature of the Iranian opposition abroad.

In London, demonstrators massed outside the Iranian embassy, a familiar focal point for protests whenever unrest flares back home. They chanted against the Iranian authorities and held moments of silence for those killed in the streets. Some participants recounted frantic phone calls with relatives in Iranian cities, describing security forces firing on crowds, house-to-house raids, and the sudden disappearance of activists. Others said they had lost contact altogether after authorities moved to sever communication lines.

The Vatican added a moral and spiritual dimension to the international response. During his weekly Angelus prayer, Pope Leo XIV appealed for “dialogue and peace” in the Middle East, singling out Iran and Syria as places where ongoing tensions were claiming many lives. His remarks, delivered to thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square, framed the crisis not only as a political confrontation but as a human tragedy demanding compassion and restraint. While the pope did not take sides in Iran’s internal power struggle, his call underscored the growing concern among religious and humanitarian leaders about the scale of the violence.

Inside Iran, the protests had by then moved far beyond complaints about inflation and currency collapse. Demonstrators in multiple cities began chanting against the entire ruling establishment, targeting both political and religious authorities. Videos shared online showed women removing or burning headscarves, workers striking at factories and refineries, and students confronting security forces on university campuses. The slogans, once focused on economic grievances, increasingly demanded systemic change.

The state’s response was swift and severe. Security forces deployed in large numbers, using live ammunition, tear gas, and mass arrests to regain control of the streets. Activist networks and human rights groups, piecing together reports from hospitals, morgues, and families of the missing, estimate that at least 544 people have been killed since the protests began, including teenagers and children. More than 10,600 people have been arrested, according to these groups, though the true number may be higher given the opacity of Iran’s judicial system and the pressure on families to remain silent.