A powerful video of an elderly Iranian woman openly defying the country’s ruling establishment during nighttime protests has gone viral, crystallising the scale of public anger building across Iran amid worsening economic hardship, political repression, and prolonged isolation.
In the widely shared footage, filmed during overnight demonstrations in Tehran, the woman is seen walking through a dimly lit street chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic. A red liquid appears to be flowing from her mouth, though it remains unclear whether it is blood or paint deliberately used as a symbolic act of protest.
“I’m not afraid. I have been dead for 47 years,” she shouts, a stark reference to the years that have passed since the Iranian Revolution, which transformed Iran into an Islamic republic.
The video rapidly spread across social media platforms, drawing international attention. Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad shared the clip on X, describing it as a reflection of the despair and defiance gripping ordinary Iranians.
“This is the voice of a woman who has nothing left to lose,” Alinejad wrote, adding that decades of repression had stripped citizens of fear as well as faith in reform.
Historical Roots of the Protest Anger
The woman’s words resonate deeply in a country reshaped by the 1979 revolution, which overthrew the monarchy of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and installed a Shiite theocracy under Ruhollah Khomeini.
Since then, Iran has been governed through a system that blends clerical authority with limited electoral politics. The country’s current Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has held power since 1989, presiding over decades marked by international sanctions, economic stagnation, and repeated cycles of unrest.
Analysts say the protests reflect long-simmering frustrations that extend far beyond a single policy grievance, encompassing unemployment, inflation, corruption, and restrictions on civil liberties.
Internet Blackout Signals Escalating Crackdown
As demonstrations spread, Iranian authorities imposed sweeping restrictions on communication. On Thursday night, access to the internet and international telephone services was disrupted across much of the country.
The blackout coincided with calls for nighttime protests issued by exiled opposition figures, including Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah.
Network monitoring organisations NetBlocks and Cloudflare confirmed the outages, attributing them to deliberate state intervention. Similar shutdowns in the past have often preceded forceful security responses.
Residents in several cities reported shouting slogans from windows and rooftops during the blackout, a tactic increasingly used to evade direct confrontation with security forces.
A Test for the Exiled Opposition
The protests represent one of the most significant tests yet of Reza Pahlavi’s ability to mobilise support inside Iran. While he has gained visibility abroad, analysts caution that the movement inside the country remains largely decentralised and not formally aligned with any single leader.
Nonetheless, demonstrators in several cities were heard chanting slogans in support of the former monarchy an act that would once have carried severe punishment—underscoring the depth of disillusionment with the current political order.
Crowds also repeated long-standing protest chants such as “Death to the dictator” and “Death to the Islamic Republic,” signalling continuity with previous waves of unrest.
Deaths, Arrests, and Economic Disruption
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 42 people have been killed and more than 2,270 detained since the demonstrations began. These figures could not be independently verified.
Markets and bazaars in several cities shut down in apparent solidarity with protesters, compounding the strain on an economy already battered by sanctions and inflation.
State Media Response and Official Narrative
Iran’s state television acknowledged the protests on Friday, reporting casualties but attributing violence to what it described as “terrorist agents” linked to foreign powers, including the United States and Israel.
The broadcast did not mention the internet blackout, instead highlighting government food subsidy programmes an omission that activists said reflected efforts to minimise the scale of dissent.
A Leaderless Movement, United by Exhaustion
Despite attempts by exiled figures to shape the narrative, the protests remain largely leaderless. Political analysts say this reflects a broad-based uprising driven less by ideology and more by collective exhaustion after decades of economic hardship and political repression.
The image of the elderly woman—defiant, unafraid, and unapologetic has come to symbolise that shared sentiment.
As pressure mounts on Iran’s leadership, observers say the coming days will determine whether the protests sustain momentum or are once again suppressed through force and information control.
