Iran sanctions bite as protests hit Tehran streets Merchants said they were voicing anger over the rial's plunging value, which sank to a record low of 37,500 against the dollar on Tuesday, and what they called the government's "passive approach" to Iran's worsening economic plight. Currency traders, mostly based in streets nearby, also closed their shops in protest. Kalemeh quoted one veteran bazaar trader as describing the solidarity among striking merchants as comparable to that witnessed in the revolution, when a shutdown of several weeks played a key role in unseating the Shah. The latest strike came after Mr Ahmadinejad on Tuesday blamed the currency crisis on "enemies" at home and abroad while denying it was due to his government's policies. He also appealed to Iranians not to buy dollars or other denominations such as the pound or the euro after the government threatened to turn the security forces against foreign currency "speculators." The currency collapse has come amid falling oil revenues resulting from tightening economic sanctions against Tehran's nuclear programme, which the West believes is a front for an atom bomb despite Iran's denials. It has also reopened a feud between Mr Ahmadinejad and his opponents in parliament. The influential parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani - contradicting the president - said this week that the currency crisis was only 20 per cent due to sanctions and 80 per cent down to government mismanagement.