In December 2017, the people of Iran held a widespread uprising across the country, calling for regime change and bringing the regime to its knees. The storm of these uprisings, which was ignited in Mashhad on December 28, 2017, spread across the country in ten days and announced the end of the illusion of reformism within the regime with the slogan, “Reformists, principalists, the game is over.”
The regime only managed to hold on to power through brutal suppression but the fire of that nationwide uprisings continues to burn brightly in the ongoing activities of Iran’s rebellious youth who continue to mark its anniversary with anti-regime activities.
On the anniversary of the December 2017 uprising, Iran’s rebellious youth launched a series of fiery and oppressive-breaking attacks against the centers and symbols of the regime in several cities across the country:
- Setting fire to a banner of former regime president Ebrahim Raisi in Karaj
- Setting fire to a Basij base in Najafabad tasked with suppressing students
- Setting fire to a statue of terrorist mastermind Qasem Soleimani in Kerman
- Burning a picture of Soleimani in Mashhad
- Burning posters of the regime’s proxies in Isfahan
- Burning a regime propaganda billboard in Andimeshk
- Burning posters of regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei, eliminated IRGC Commander Abbas Nilforoushan, and the regime’s terrorist proxies in Mashhad
On December 26, the rebellious youth set fire to centers of suppression and symbols of tyranny and corruption in different cities:
- Three arson attacks at the regime’s corrupt Bonyad Shahid foundation in Qazvin
- Three arson attacks at regime’s municipality building in Alvand
- Two arson attacks at the Ameer-ul-Momenin IRGC battalion in Ahvaz
- An arson attack at the center of fundamentalism and suppression of women in Dezful
- An arson attack at an IRGC Basij base in Kermanshah
- A Molotov cocktail attack on an IRGC Basij base in Shiraz
The nationwide uprisings of December 2017 emerged against the backdrop of crises and revolutionary conditions, encompassing 142 cities across Iran. These uprisings, which involved the diverse spectrum of Iranian society, shook the foundations of the regime so profoundly over 10 days that no measure or tool could restore the prior state. The societal conditions underwent a complete transformation in the aftermath of these uprisings.
The December 2017 uprising had a profound and lasting impact on the trajectory of the Iranian people’s struggle, paving the way for fundamental changes that continue to this day. Neither the people’s situation nor the regime’s position has returned to its previous state.
The uprisings and their continuation, along with the political transformations that followed, exposed the futility of the possibility of reform from within the regime and discredited the fear-mongering deceptions of “becoming like Syria,” “civil war,” and “Iran’s disintegration.” These deceitful narratives, crafted over the years by the regime’s propaganda apparatus and promoted by its overt and covert lobbyists, aimed solely at diverting the struggle for overthrowing the regime and achieving the Iranian people’s democratic revolution.
This is why the achievements of the monumental uprisings of December 2017 shine brightly in the struggle of Iran’s people for liberation, proving that the sacrifices and dedication of Iranian men and women over the past 120 years have not been in vain. This truth is most evident in the emergence and growth of Resistance Units as an organized force for overthrowing the regime. The uprisings demonstrated that the connection between popular protests and the activities of these units could transform scattered movements into a purposeful, effective, and thriving movement.
The December 2017 uprisings also revealed that the Iranian people have no hope for change from within the regime. They emphasized this with the slogan “Reformist, principalist, the game is over,” underlining that all factions of the regime are united in maintaining mullahs’ dictatorship. True change is only achievable through the overthrow of the entire clerical regime.