Iran Central Bank Chief Resigns, Protests Erupt Across Major Cities

Published
Dec 29, 2025 at 12:14 PM EST
By Hollie Silverman
Deputy Weekend Editor
Mohammad Reza Farzin, head of Iran’s Central Bank, resigned on Monday after the nation’s currency, the rial, plunged to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar, triggering widespread protests by traders and shopkeepers in several major cities, according to multiple media outlets.
Images show roads in Iran’s capital city, Tehran, filled with protesters on Monday, disrupting traffic and clogging roadways.
The resignation came days after Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the country was in a “full-scale war” with the U.S., Europe and Israel.
The Context
The rapid decline of the rial—down from around 430,000 to the dollar when Farzin took office in 2022 to 1.38 million per dollar this week—has intensified economic hardships for average Iranians, increasing the cost of food, medicine and daily essentials, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
The currency crisis has pushed the inflation rate to 42.2 percent year-over-year, with food prices soaring by 72 percent and health and medical items by 50 percent, intensifying fears of approaching hyperinflation.
The simultaneous protests in traditional bazaar districts also invoke historical echoes of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, highlighting the potential for significant institutional change when economic grievances unite diverse segments of society.
What To Know
Iran’s state television reported Farzin’s resignation after days of escalating speculation about his position, as per the AP.
Within hours, Iran’s national currency tanked, with the rial dropping to 1.42 million against the dollar on Sunday before rebounding slightly to 1.38 million Monday.
In contrast, when Farzin assumed leadership in 2022, the exchange rate was 430,000 rials per dollar, demonstrating the extent of the current crisis.
Hundreds of traders and shopkeepers took to Saadi Street in central Tehran on Monday, along with other commercial districts such as Shush, near the city’s Grand Bazaar, a historic site of protest and political change.
Demonstrations quickly spread to Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad, with similar gatherings confirmed by Iran’s official IRNA news agency. In several areas, police deployed tear gas to disperse crowds, while reports indicated widespread shop closures as business owners demanded economic reforms.
The depreciation of the rial has been exacerbated by ongoing international sanctions, the fallout from the shuttered 2015 nuclear deal and the threat of increased taxation and gasoline prices.
The Iranian government’s announcement of potential new taxes in the new year—beginning March 21—has added to the uncertainty. Meanwhile, state data show inflation surging far beyond wage growth.
What People Are Saying
Maryam Rajavi, Iranian dissident politician, said in a message sent to Newsweek by a spokesperson with Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an exiled Iranian opposition group: “Through their slogans, the protesters have pointed both to the root of the problem-the vile system of religious dictatorship-and to the solution, namely resistance and uprising. I call on the general public, especially militant and rebellious youth, to show solidarity with and support the protesters.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview published on the official website for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday: “We must all help with all our might to fix the country.”

https://www.newsweek.com/iran-central-bank-chief-resigns-protests-erupt-across-major-cities-11280464