Iran's regime faced unprecedented threat in 2022

Iranians have planned a special protest rally for Saturday, December 31, while many started the protests Friday night, a day the regime sought to portray as a day of pro-government rallies.

Iranians took to the streets Friday afternoon after the regime-sponsored pro-government gatherings ended. The Islamic Republic marked the anniversary of a large rally it organized in 2009 to silence opposition protests questioning the results of the presidential vote that year which reinstated Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second term.

But this year the pro-regime gatherings were too small to make dent in the popular mood to continue antigovernment protests.

Several cities big cities were scenes of demonstrations where people gathered to mourn for their loved ones killed in the past three months by security forces. It seemed that people were preparing for a larger protest on Saturday, December 31 in the capital Tehran. Calls on social media have urged people to march on Tehran’s main bazaar at 11:00 local time.

Protests have erupted in Iran in recent months, triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who was jailed after being arrested for wearing "inappropriate attire" under Iran's interpretation of the Islamic dress code.

The protests have drawn people from all walks of life in the country to call for the collapse of Iran's ruling government, which rules in the name of Islam - the biggest challenge to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.