Images circulating on social media appear to show Iranian women lighting cigarettes using burning photographs of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a striking act of defiance emerging amid Iran’s deepening economic crisis and widening street protests.
While the authenticity of the images could not be independently verified by News Ei Samay and other media houses, the visuals have drawn attention because they combine two actions considered highly provocative under Iranian law: burning images of the Supreme Leader and women smoking publicly, both of which have previously attracted state punishment.
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Acts that challenge authority and social control
In Iran, setting fire to the Supreme Leader’s image is treated as a serious offence. According to Iran Wire, in November last year security forces raided the home of an activist after he shared a video of himself burning a photograph of Khamenei, forcing him into hiding, as recounted by a former political prisoner.
Although it is not legally prohibited countrywide, women smoking in public has long been discouraged and limited, especially when combined with disobedience of mandatory hijab rules. Pictures of the protesters have been circulating all over social media as they seem to be directly opposing both political authority and inflexible social standards. Pictures have been circulating all over social media.
New discontent is fuelled by economic collapse
As per a Times of India report, the steep decline of the Iranian rial, which is said to have dropped to a historic low of almost 1.4 million to the US dollar, is the recent behind the most recent protests. With food prices rising more than 70% annually due to the currency decline, inflation has surpassed 50%, significantly reducing household incomes.
The Associated Press (AP) reports that the present situation is the most extensive since the nationwide protests of 2022–23, which broke out after Mahsa Amini was arrested for allegedly breaking Iran's dress code and died in police custody.
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Rights organisations cited by AP have accused Iranian security forces of using live ammunition against demonstrators. At least 62 people have been killed during the recent protests, the report said.
The Haalvsh human rights group, which tracks abuses against the Baluch Sunni minority, said security forces opened fire on protesters in Zahedan, the main city of Sistan-Baluchistan province, following Friday prayers. The exact number of casualties there remains unclear.
