UK Suspends Embassy Operations in Iran as Nationwide Unrest Intensifies

The United Kingdom has temporarily suspended operations at its embassy in Iran as violent clashes between protesters and security forces continue to escalate. The British Foreign Office has also issued a strict travel warning, urging its citizens to avoid all travel to Iran amid the rapidly worsening situation.

For the past two weeks, Iran has been gripped by a sweeping anti‑government movement that has grown more intense with each passing day. The unrest is rooted in the country’s long‑standing economic crisis. Years of currency devaluation have pushed the Iranian rial to one of the weakest positions of any currency in the world, now trading at 994,055 rials to the US dollar.

This collapse has triggered severe inflation, leaving ordinary people struggling to afford basic necessities such as food, clothing, housing and medical care. Against this backdrop, wholesale and retail traders in Tehran called a strike on 28 December to protest soaring prices and the rising cost of living. That strike quickly ignited nationwide demonstrations.

Within days, the movement spread like wildfire across nearly every city and town in all 31 provinces, effectively bringing large parts of the country to a standstill.