PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 30th, 2025: Iranian Unrest Explodes & North Korea Goes Nuclear at Sea
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It's Tuesday, the 30th of December. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, pressure is building inside Iran, where a collapsing economy has driven protesters into the streets and security forces are struggling to contain the unrest. I'll have the details. Later in the show, North Korea has unveiled what it claims is its first nuclear-powered submarine, a vessel equal in size, reportedly, to some of the U.S. Navy's attack subs. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. It's a story we've been watching closely here on the PDB, the simmering unrest inside Iran. And based on internal reports and outside observers, it's beginning to look like that simmer may be starting to boil over.
How's that for wordplay? Over the past several days, protests have erupted across Iran, spilling into major cities and commercial hubs, including Tehran itself. Crowds have taken to the streets, shops have closed their doors, and security forces have responded with tear gas and batons and mass deployments of security personnel onto the streets. Videos circulating online show chaotic scenes, smoke hanging over city streets, protesters scattering and regrouping and chanting slogans that go well beyond simple economic grievances. This isn't just another flash protest, of which there have been many over the years, all of which have fizzled out in short order under the aggressive and brutal response from the mullahs and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC.
What we're seeing now appears broader, more coordinated, and more politically charged than many of the demonstrations Iran has faced in recent years. At the center of the unrest is the collapse of the nation's economy. Iran's currency has plunged to historic lows, gutting purchasing power and wiping out savings almost overnight. Inflation is soaring, prices for basic food items, fuel, and household goods are climbing fast. For ordinary Iranians, well, the math simply doesn't work anymore. Now, one of the most significant developments here is where the protests are happening. Demonstrations have spread beyond student groups or isolated neighborhoods. Merchants in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, a place with deep historical and political significance, have shut their stalls in protest.
That matters because when the bazaars close, it signals that unrest has moved from the margins into the core of Iranian society. The chants tell another important story. Protesters aren't just demanding lower prices or economic relief. Many are openly targeting the leadership itself with slogans aimed at the regime and top figures. That shift from economic anger to political defiance is one that Tehran takes very seriously. Security forces certainly appear to be taking it seriously. Riot police and internal security units have been deployed in force. Tear gas has been used repeatedly to disperse crowds. There are reports of beatings, arrests, and intimidation tactics designed to deter people from returning to the streets, and that is their familiar playbook.
But there are signs that the regime is under unusual pressure. The resignation of Iran's central bank chief amid the currency collapse is one example. So are hints in some official statements that the government may be open to, quote, dialogue with protesters. That's not something that Tehran typically offers unless it's feeling boxed in. The bigger question is whether this unrest represents another cycle, protests, repression, and a return to uneasy calm, or something more consequential. As mentioned, Iran has seen waves of unrest before. The protests following the death of Masa Amini in 2022 are a recent example.
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