In the final days of 2025, Iran stood at a crossroads. What began as quiet anxiety in homes and marketplaces soon erupted into the largest wave of unrest the country had seen in years. The trigger was economic volatility, sharp, unpredictable, and relentless. Prices no longer held steady for weeks, or even days. Bread, fuel, medicine, and basic necessities became moving targets. For many Iranians, this sudden rise in the cost of living was not a political statement, but a matter of survival.