After 'bloody' protest, viral photos show Iranian women using Khamenei’s photos to light cigarettes. Here's why

Iran has plunged into a huge chaos as anti-government protestors have taken to the streets over the nation’s severely battered economy. Iranian women, in an act of defiance, have been lighting cigarettes with burning images of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Multiple videos and photos of the protest have been shared widely on social media platforms, which show women burning images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amidst escalating protests. The practice has become a powerful symbol of defiance, observers believe. Under the Iranian law, burning photos of the supreme leader is a serious offence, while women smoking has long been restricted or discouraged across the country.

And by combining these two acts and defying the mandatory hijab laws, protesters are rejecting both state authority and strict social controls. For those unaware, in the Middle Eastern nation, setting fire to an image of the Supreme Leader in the past has led to state action. In November last year, Iranian security forces raided the home of an activist after he shared a video showing himself burning a photograph of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, forcing him to go into hiding, a former political prisoner told IranWire.

Yesterday, a video of an elderly woman protestor defying the Islamic regime went viral. In the viral clip from the nighttime protest, the woman, who appears to be bleeding from her mouth, can be seen marching through the streets of Tehran and chanting anti-government slogans. "I am not afraid, I have been dead for 47 years," the woman can be heard saying in the video.

ALSO READ: $1 equals 14,00,000 Iranian rial and 42 percent inflation: Why has the Iran's currency plunged to a record low against the US dollar?

Iranian women's bold protest

Videos of women lighting cigarettes using burnt photographs of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have gone viral on social media. ET could not independently verify the authenticity of these images. Observers say this type of protest is harder for authorities to clamp down on as it doesn’t depend on large crowds that can be dispersed. The viral trend comes at a time when Iran is facing severe economic hardships, sparking massive protests across the country and a growing crisis of confidence in the country’s leadership.


What's the reason behind the protests? The protests in Iran were triggered as the Iranian rial plunged to about 1.4 million against the US dollar as a result of which inflation has crossed the 40 percent mark. Food prices have skyrocketed to more than 70% year-on-year, and wages were rapidly eroded. Prices for food and other basic necessities have skyrocketed in the Islamic nation, with the inflation rate sharply rising to 42.2% compared to 2024. Tensions flared in Tehran and several other cities across the country, all while security forces led by Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tried to maintain control.

ALSO READ: Chilling video from Iran: Woman bleeds from mouth, says she 'has been dead for 47 years' as anti-government protests explode

Tensions flare up in Tehran

Images published by state television overnight showed what it said were burning buses, cars and motorbikes as well as fires at metro stations and banks. Demonstrators have also been reported burning images of senior leaders and damaged statues linked to the ruling establishment. The protests erupted last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where shopkeepers railed against the rial’s collapse. Iran’s economy has struggled since US sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme were reimposed in September and in the wake of the 12-day war with Israel.

Khamenei accused demonstrators of acting on behalf of US President Donald Trump, saying rioters were attacking public properties and warning that Tehran would not tolerate people acting as ‘mercenaries for foreigners’. President Trump has also vowed to help protestors, issuing a vague promise of support of peaceful demonstrations erupting in Iran. In a nearly 3 am Truth Social post on Jan 2, Trump posted: “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go."