Iran

NPR - Iran is experiencing its largest protests in years as thousands of people, unhappy with the state of the economy, flood the streets. Inflation in the country has skyrocketed, and the currency has plummeted to a record low. Public anger is growing over sanctions against the ruling government. 

Months of anger and frustration over water and energy shortages, civil rights abuses and widespread corruption have fueled the current unrest, NPR’s Jackie Northam says. These criticisms, combined with the economic protests, have the potential to spiral into something significantly larger. The 12-day war Iran had with Israel over the summer was costly. There is now a widespread belief that Israel will start another conflict with the country, which would add more economic uncertainty, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, an economics professor at Virginia Tech, tells Northam.