Protests against Iran's regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have spread nationwide, beginning in Tehran among the merchants before expanding to dozens of cities. By Friday, January 2, protests were reported in more than 30 cities, including Qom, the bastion of Iran's ruling clerical class. The unrest is the largest since the 2022 protests following Mahsa Amini's death, which saw pro-monarchy chants backing the former Pahlavi Shah and its crown prince, Reza Pahlavi.
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Along with chants of "Mullahs must leave Iran", the slogan of "Javid Shah," meaning "long live the Shah", was raised by the protestors.
Economic distress initially fuelled the protests, driven by a sharply depreciating currency, trading at around 42,000 rials to the United States dollar, and inflation of up to 42 percent. The protests have evolved into open calls for the theocratic regime to step down. Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad said protesters were chanting slogans "Death to the dictatorship'.
So, who is the Shah that Iranians are now invoking to oppose the rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?
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