Tehran's Tank Man

Tehran's Tank Man, also known as Iran's Tank Man or the Iranian Tank Man, was an unidentified Iranian protester who, on 29 December 2025, sat defiantly in the middle of Jomhuri Eslami Street (also known as Jomhuri Avenue) in central Tehran, refusing to move as a line of security forces on motorcycles advanced toward demonstrators during the 2025–2026 Iranian protests.

Protest The incident occurred amid widespread protests sparked by the severe depreciation of the Iranian rial to record lows against the US dollar, high inflation, and economic hardships. Viral videos and images showed the lone protester sitting cross-legged, drawing his jacket over his head to cover his face, blocking the path of riot police and Basij paramilitaries on motorcycles near the mobile phone shopping center on Jomhuri Avenue.

The footage quickly spread on social media and was widely compared by international media to the iconic Tank Man from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in Beijing, China, symbolizing non-violent individual defiance against state repression.

Repression Security forces assaulted the protester and forcibly removed him from the scene.

Impact During the following days, the image inspired similar acts of defiance in other protests, such as in Mashhad, and amplified calls for regime change on social media.