On the 29th (local time), protesters are marching in downtown Tehran, Iran. [Photo=Fars News Agency, AP]

Unrest is escalating across Iran due to a series of economic collapses following water bankruptcy. 

On the 29th (local time), U.S. Fox News reported clashes between protesters and security forces in Iran's capital, Tehran, and its second-largest city, Mashhad. 

The news reported, "Iranian authorities are in disarray amid ongoing strikes and street clashes." "Large groups of protesters from the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an Iranian opposition group, marched along Jomhuri Street, meaning 'Republic' in Persian, and then moved to nearby areas such as Nasser Khosrow Street and Istanbul Square in Tehran."

Referring to testimonies from eyewitnesses on the scene, it also reported, "Police used tear gas and batons to disperse crowds in the city center."

Videos circulating online show protesters inside a large shopping mall in Tehran's Grand Bazaar shouting, "Don't be afraid, we are all together," hurling insults at security forces, and denouncing them as "shameless."

The anti-regime group claimed, "The Iranian regime is setting a new record for executions in 2025. The indiscriminate killing continues."

Additional footage from a market in Tehran shows crowds chanting, "Death to the dictator," urging merchants to close their shops, and calling for the resignation of President Masoud Pezeshkian. 

Experts interpret, "Iran's water bankruptcy is a result of a combination of decades of misguided water management policies and record-breaking droughts." They add, "Residents, already suffering from severe economic hardship due to Western sanctions, have reached their limit of dissatisfaction with the government's incompetence, experiencing water and power outages due to water shortages." 

Meanwhile, local media outlet 'Iran International' reported that President Pezeshkian instructed the Minister of Interior to begin dialogue with representatives of the protesters. This is the president's first official response to the unrest. 

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in a video uploaded to X, urged the protesters to rise up, stating, "The Iranian people have a glorious past and can have an even more glorious future." 

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also criticized, "It is not surprising that the economy is collapsing due to the extremism and corruption of the Iranian regime, and the Iranian people are taking to the streets. The Iranian regime has ruined the country with extremism and corruption." 

Pompeo further added, "The Iranian people deserve a government that represents their interests, not the interests of some politicians and their cronies." 

Meanwhile, Iran is intensifying internal security crackdowns following airstrikes by the United States and Israel. 

The world's attention is currently focused on the actions of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an Iranian terrorist organization. 

By Reporter Lim Yo-hee