Iran declares state of emergency after Islamic Republic vows 'total war' with United States, Europe and Israel

Ruling clerics called in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, armed with batons and tear gas, to quell the uprising.

However, in at least one city they were beaten back by protesters.

A spokesman for the opposition National Council for the Resistance of Iran said: "Running battles broke out between protesters and the regime's security forces in the city's central areas.

"Near Sepahsalar Garden and under the Hafez Bridge, mercenary police and thugs loyal to the regime's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attacked the crowd with tear gas and batons.

"The people confronted them, chanting 'dishonorable! dishonorable!' and, in a bold counter-attack, forced the suppressive forces to flee."

It follows Iranian authorities declaring "total war" on the United States, Europe and Israel, with the Islamic Republic looking to rapidly rebuild its nuclear capabilities.

Experts suggested the outburst from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was an attempt to destabilise the ongoing meeting between Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mr Pezeshkian said the West’s war against Iran is "more complicated and more difficult" compared to the ar with Iraq in the 1980s.

He said: "In the war with Iraq, the situation was clear: they fired missiles, and I also knew where to hit.

"Here, they are besieging us from every aspect, they are putting us in difficulty and constraint, creating problems, in terms of livelihood, culturally, politically, and security-wise, while raising society’s expectations."

WATCH: The dispatch of IRGC to the streets of Tehran

Following the claim, the capital’s commercial districts and bazaars closed without warning with workers taking to the streets to protest against soaring oppression and corruption and collapsing living standards across the country.

Chants were heard taunting Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei's regime included: "This year is the year of bold, Seyyed Ali (Khamenei) will be overthown."

The revolutionary guard imposed a state of emergency across the capital Tehran.

The National Council of Resistance in Iran said: "The rapid depreciation of the currency, soaring inflation, unprecedented recession, and systematic government discrimination and corruption have exasperated the overwhelming majority of the people of Iran. The only way is protest and resistance."

Former Vice-President Hossein Marashi said: "For the past 20 years, Iran's economy has been hostage to the nuclear issue.

"The 37 per cent inflation rate at the end of March 2025 has now reached over 53 per cent and will certainly exceed 55 per cent by the end of the year.

"The food supply crisis has the potential to bring hungry people to the streets. The country is facing an unprecedented crisis."

Experts say corruption and state-level mismanagement is now out of control and executions have hit levels not seen for 20 years.

It falls as President Donald Trump said the US would quickly launch new attacks on Iran if it is rebuilding the nuclear program that he struck in June.

He said: "I hear Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we have to knock them down."

Mr Trump is currently welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he told reporters: "We'll knock the hell out of them."

Mr Trump also said he remained open to negotiating a "deal," which he called "much smarter."

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