UPDATE 0923 GMT:
Shopkeepers in south Tehran’s Shoush and Molavi districts have again closed their stores. There are reports of protests in parts of the capital’s main bazaar.
Security forces have deployed at Valiasr Square, one of Tehran’s busiest intersections and a frequent gathering point.
Shopkeepers in Isfahan in central Iran reportedly joined strikes, with merchants in the historic Naghsh-e Jahan Square closing their stores.
There are also claims of closures in the cities of Shiraz and Ahvaz.
Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir warned that “citizens” would not permit existing problems to become “a pretext for the enemy’s attack on the ideals and values of the nation”.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Strikes and protests are spreading in Iran’s capital Tehran over the country’s mounting economic problems.
Crowds gathered on the streets despite attempts by security forces to disperse them with volleys of tear gas. One of the rallies was at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where many merchants closed their shops.
As inflation rises to an official level well above 40%, Iran’s currency is plummeting to record lows. The rial now stands at 1,386,000:1 v. the US dollar. That is a 97% decrease in value from early 2018, when the currency stood at 45,000:1, and a 43% decline from the last year’s level of 800,000:1.
On Tuesday morning, President Masoud Pezeshkian said, “I have asked the Interior Minister to listen to the legitimate demands of the protesters by engaging in dialogue with their representatives so that the government can do everything in its power to resolve the problems and act responsibly.”
State media acknowledged the demonstrations. The Iranian Labor News Agency said protesters “are demanding immediate government intervention to rein in exchange-rate fluctuations and set out a clear economic strategy”. It quoted complaints: “Continuing to do business under these conditions has become impossible.”
Other outlets betrayed concerns. The Revolutionary Guards’ Fars warned of “insecurity” and “destabilization”: “These gatherings could become a new platform for the activities of the cells of unrest.”
Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said people’s grievances over livelihoods required “full responsibility” from officials and dialogue with representatives of professional guilds.
He praised Pezeshkian’s intervention, saying measures should focus on boosting purchasing power, reforming economic decision-making, and ensuring coordinated action across the government. Urgent steps were needed to protect household incomes and strengthen the central bank’s authority in economic policy.
However, he warned, “Ill-wishers want to drag people’s demands into disorder and unrest. The people of Iran know the enemy and its malicious goals.”
The official statements showed no sign of checking the growing discontent. The national truckers’ union has declared full support for shopkeepers and protesters: “The unity of the bazaar and the drivers is the only way out of this situation.”
