On April 28, while the world focused on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, a different kind of battle was being planned in a quiet, secure room somewhere in Tehran. The Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic convened an emergency session. The meeting was kept secret from the public, but opposition groups abroad and Middle Eastern media outlets have since revealed its purpose.
The date was significant: the 60th day of the war.
But the council was not discussing military strategy against American warplanes or Israeli missiles. They were discussing something far closer to home. According to Iranian social media accounts operating from outside the country, the council met to prepare for another wave of popular unrest—an uprising that could erupt in the coming days.
The regime is terrified of its own people.
The source of this terror is simple: the Iranian economy is collapsing.
The Supreme National Security Council reviewed the latest economic data, and the numbers are devastating. The economic balance and circulation of the Iranian rial are facing their biggest decline in the history of the Islamic Republic. Goods prices have soared in markets across the country. The Iranian people—90 million of them—are struggling to afford basic necessities like bread, medicine, and cooking oil.
Every day, the situation worsens. The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has choked off Iran's ability to export oil. Food ships cannot leave Iranian ports. Import ships cannot enter. Even neighboring countries have stopped trading with Iran. The nation is becoming an island of scarcity in a sea of plenty.
The council's assessment was grim: the economic hardship is having a serious impact on the Iranian people, and that hardship is translating into anger. And that anger is translating into a willingness to take to the streets once again.
The council's emergency meeting had a specific focus: how to respond if a new uprising occurs. They studied past successes—specifically, the brutal suppression of the January protests.
That earlier uprising had been massive. According to Iranian media reports at the time, up to 6 million people rose up across the country. In the city of Tehran alone, 1.5 million protesters took to the streets. They demanded the overthrow of the Islamic Republic government. The trigger was the same as today: economic crisis and opposition to a regime that had failed its people.
But the regime's response was swift and horrifying.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the National Security Forces used violent force to kill protesters. Gunmen shot workers in large numbers. The streets of Tehran ran red with blood. A local human rights organization later compiled the toll:
More than 42,000 protesters killed – shot dead by the regime's gunmen.
Over 330,000 injured – many of whom were killed even after reaching hospitals for treatment.
More than 100,000 arrested – dragged from their homes, their workplaces,
