News analysis

Increasing unrest puts pressure on Iran's leaders

Iranian flags being waved at Azadi stadium during a ceremony bidding farewell to the national team as they head to the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia. PHOTO: AFP
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Deep inside the restless underbelly of Iranian society there are signs of a slow, but steady, rumbling born out of a social discontent.

A series of recent demonstrations across the country have illustrated that Iran's youth are unwilling to let the authorities take them for granted in the face of increasing hardship, poverty, corruption and an economic malaise that has filtered through ever widening cracks in society.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 24, 2018, with the headline Increasing unrest puts pressure on Iran's leaders. Subscribe