Full Analysis Summary
Protests across Iran
Protests began on 28 December in Tehran's Grand Bazaar over a collapsing rial and soaring inflation.
They have spread across much of Iran, and multiple rights groups and media outlets report violent confrontations between demonstrators and security forces.
Sources place the unrest in dozens of cities and provinces.
The BBC says the protests have spread across Iran, reaching 27 of 31 provinces.
Al Jazeera reports the demonstrations began with shopkeepers on December 28 and spread to cities including Mashhad, Qazvin and Hamedan.
Rights-monitoring outlets cited by Business Standard and JFeed say dozens have been killed and more than 1,000 people detained.
The exact tolls differ sharply between reports.
Coverage Differences
Reporting on scale and geography
Sources broadly agree the unrest began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and spread nationally, but they quantify the spread differently and emphasise different cities. The BBC (Western Mainstream) frames it as reaching 27 of 31 provinces, Al Jazeera (West Asian) lists a string of cities where clashes occurred and foregrounds graphic video evidence, while local outlets such as PhotoNews Pakistan (Asian/Other) highlight overnight protests in specific cities like Shiraz and western regions.
Emphasis on causes
Different outlets place varying weight on economic versus political drivers: BBC and Al Jazeera emphasise a collapsing rial and rising food prices as the immediate spark, while EA WorldView and some opposition-leaning outlets frame the unrest as quickly broadening into anti-regime or strike activity.
Reports of security force violence
Multiple outlets report videos and eyewitness material showing security forces using lethal force in some locations.
There are also allegations that security personnel raided medical facilities.
Al Jazeera and The Guardian describe graphic online videos of people being shot and falling as they fled, and footage from Ilam reportedly showed riot police raiding a hospital.
BBC and the Irish Examiner report images and video of riot police firing tear gas and, in some places, shooting at crowds.
Several sources say hospitals and funerals became focal points for further clashes after the initial shootings.
Coverage Differences
Characterisation of violence and evidence
Sources agree on the existence of video footage and allegations of shootings, but they differ in how explicit or graphic they are: Al Jazeera (West Asian) highlights "graphic" footage of people shot, The Guardian (Western Mainstream) emphasises footage of a hospital raid and harsh security responses, and BBC (Western Mainstream) notes tear gas and confirmed video of police firing — indicating variation in focus between graphic imagery and institutional abuse.
Role of hospitals and funerals in coverage
Some outlets (The Guardian, Irish Examiner) emphasise alleged hospital raids as a sign of heavy-handed policing, while EA WorldView and local reports highlight funerals turning into further anti-regime rallies — a difference between focusing on state action against civilians (hospital raids) and popular mobilisation (funerals/rallies).
Disputed casualty counts
Counting the dead and injured is highly contested: reports range from single-digit or low-teens figures in local reports to the mid-30s in rights-group tallies.
Local outlets such as PhotoNews Pakistan and Firstpost cited officials saying at least 12 people had died, while The Indian Express reported the death toll had risen to at least 15.
Madhyamamonline estimated the human cost at between about 5 and 25, and HRANA along with outlets cited by Business Standard, JFeed and the BBC referenced figures in the mid-30s.
Iranian authorities have not released a single nationwide civilian death toll, and several outlets note Tehran's silence or only partial confirmations about security-personnel deaths.
This variance underlines the uncertainty and the difficulty of verifying casualty figures amid internet disruptions and contested reporting environments.
Coverage Differences
Contradiction in death toll numbers
There is a direct contradiction between sources on the death toll: Business Standard, JFeed and BBC cite HRANA/rights groups putting deaths in the mid‑30s, while other outlets (PhotoNews Pakistan, The Indian Express, madhyamamonline) report much lower counts. Those discrepancies reflect different attributions (rights groups vs. official/partial figures) and illustrate conflicting claims rather than a single confirmed number.
Official silence and partial confirmations
Several reports note that Tehran has not released an overall civilian death toll while confirming some security‑personnel deaths; this pattern appears in madhyamamonline and the BBC, showing authorities’ selective disclosures and contributing to the divergent public tallies.
Government and international reactions
Government and security‑force responses have combined promises of investigation with public threats of firm action.
The Guardian and Irish Examiner report that President Masoud Pezeshkian announced an investigation into alleged security‑force violence even as police and Basij units continued arrests.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei publicly called protesters’ demands 'legitimate' but urged that 'rioters' be put in their place, language echoed by the judiciary and other officials who vowed tough responses.
Authorities and state‑linked outlets said some protesters were armed in isolated incidents and reported dozens of police and Basij wounded, a narrative used in some reports to justify security operations.
International outlets including Business Standard, BBC and the New York Post noted a hardline U.S. warning by President Donald Trump that 'the United States of America will come to [Iranians’] rescue' if security forces 'shoot and violently kill peaceful protesters'.
Iranian officials responded to that warning with threats of retaliation.
Coverage Differences
Tone and framing by government vs. rights groups
Official and state‑linked sources emphasise threats to security forces and occasional armed incidents, framing crackdowns as necessary; Western mainstream sources (Guardian, BBC) highlight commissions of inquiry and condemn harsh repression while reporting on protesters’ grievances. The contrast shows state narratives of restoring order versus rights‑group accounts of excessive force.
International reaction emphasis
Some outlets foreground the U.S. warning and Tehran’s response (Business Standard, New York Post), while others (Al Jazeera, Irish Examiner) centre domestic causes and state responses — a difference that shifts perceived external pressure versus internal drivers of the crisis.
Media coverage of Iranian unrest
Many West Asian and Asian outlets stress immediate economic triggers such as a collapsing rial, soaring food prices, and the end of subsidised import dollar rates.
Western mainstream and alternative outlets highlight political escalation, strikes in bazaars, and echoes of the 2022–23 unrest.
Al Jazeera and the Irish Examiner identify the rial's sharp fall and food-price surges as central grievances.
Local stations 1470 and 100.3 WMBD record the central bank chief's replacement and quote a rial rate of 1,489,500, while AnewZ cites inflation above 42%.
EA WorldView and NCRI emphasise how funerals, bazaars, and workplace stoppages broadened the unrest into a challenge to the clerical system.
With conflicting casualty counts, selective official disclosures, and extensive online footage, the overall picture remains contested and fluid.
Coverage Differences
Economic focus vs. political escalation
West Asian/Asian sources (Al Jazeera, Irish Examiner, 1470 & 100.3 WMBD) foreground economic drivers — currency collapse and price shocks — while Western alternative and opposition sources (EA WorldView, NCRI) highlight political mobilization, strikes and calls for overthrowing the leadership, indicating divergent emphasis between economic grievance narratives and explicit anti‑regime framing.
Variations in casualty framing and certainty
Some outlets use firm figures from rights groups (Business Standard, JFeed), others report official lower counts or ranges (PhotoNews Pakistan, madhyamamonline), and some focus on the scale of arrests and injuries rather than a precise death toll — reflecting different source types’ access, priorities and caution in confirming fatalities.