Baku, Azerbaijan, June 25

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Tehran's Grand Bazaar traders brought down the shutters in protest at stagnation and unprecedented currency (rial) collapse.

According to Iran’s media reports the traders held “peaceful” protests on June 25 and chanted slogans in Tehran Bazaar.

The protestors called the government to take efficient measures against the growing economic turmoil.

A day before, merchants at the Aladdin and Charsou mobile phone shopping centers in central Tehran protested against the rapid depreciation of the rial by closing down their shops.

Amid the protests, the Iranian administration announced that will create a parallel market next week in a bid to combat the black market and facilitate the trade of foreign currencies in the country.

The decision came after the Iranian rial plunged to a record low against the US dollar on the unofficial market on June 24, continuing its slide amid fears of returning US sanctions after President Donald Trump in May withdrew from a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.

The US dollar was being offered for as much as 87,000 rials, compared to around 75,500 on Thursday, the last trading day before Iran’s weekend, according to foreign exchange websites, which track the unofficial market.



The fall of the national currency has provoked a public outcry over the quick rise of prices of imported consumer goods.



In an effort to halt the slide, Iranian authorities announced in April they were unifying the dollar’s official and black market exchange rates at a single level of 42,000, and banning any trade at other rates under the threat of arrest.

Follow Trend on Telegram. Only most interesting and important news</s>Tehran was rocked by protests today. Protesters confronted police officers in front of parliament and swarmed Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, forcing its closure (according to this account, though, merchants themselves initiated the shutdown to protest skyrocketing prices).

Rising prices and other economic woes are, indeed, at the heart of the protests, which in recent days have also forced the closure of major shopping centers in Tehran. Iran’s economy seems to be cratering, and its currency, the Iranian rial, has plummeted to 90,000 to the U.S. dollar on the black market. At the end of last year, it was 43,000.

Earlier this year, I noted Iran’s runaway inflation, and its possible consequences for the regime. Since then, things have gotten worse, as President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will withdraw from the nuclear deal fuels economic pessimism.

But there’s more to the protests than just economic discontent. Protesters reportedly carried signs and shouted chants expressing disgust with the regime’s foreign adventurism — e.g., “Palestine, Syria are reasons of our misery” and “Let go of Syria, think of us.” They blame Iranian foreign and military policy for the state of the economy.

President Obama may have outsmarted us all, and especially himself. His Iran deal raised expectations that, with sanctions lifted and cash flowing in, Iran’s economy would soar. But with so many resources being diverted to Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, etc. (and some no doubt flowing to the coffers of various ayatollahs), the peoples’ expectations are not close to being met. That’s a recipe for protests, at a minimum.

That protests have shut down the Grand Bazaar seems particularly significant. As this report explains, the Grand Bazaar has long been a center of conservatism in Iranian politics. In 1979, its merchants supported the Islamic Revolution. Since then, they have supported the theocracy.

The Grand Bazaar remains an economic force in Iran, notwithstanding the construction of massive malls. Losing that backing would be a blow to the regime.

Nor is discontent in the bazaars confined to Tehran. I’m told that the closures have spread from Tehran’s Grand Bazaar to other cities — Mashhad, Bandar Abbas, Karaj, Isfahan and even Qeshm Island.

Is this the beginning of a revolution? It would be premature to say so. But the Iranian protests are worth keeping a close eye on.</s>TEHRAN -- Police in Tehran have fired tear-gas at a crowd of protesters who marched to the Iranian parliament on June 25 after swarming the city’s historic Grand Bazaar in anger over the country's troubled economy.

The spontaneous protest erupted at the Grand Bazaar on the morning of June 25, after the black-market exchange rate for Iran's rial currency fell by more than 10 percent in a single day despite moves by the government support it.

Video footage of the unfolding demonstration obtained by RFE/RL showed hundreds of angry demonstrators marching in and around the Grand Bazaar, forcing shopkeepers to close their stalls.

Shopkeepers who refused to do so were mocked by the crowd with the chant, "Cowards! Cowards!"

The protest came a day after demonstrators forced two major mobile phone and electronics shopping centers in the Iranian capital to close.

It was not immediately clear who led the protests. The semiofficial Fars news agency reported that traders gathered at the Grand Bazaar to protest "against recession," exchange-rate fluctuations, declining demand from Iranian consumers, and rising prices.

But in videos obtained by RFE/RL, the crowd at the bazaar can be heard in Persian chanting "Leave Syria, think about us," while some demonstrators shouted "Our enemy is here, not in the U.S."

RFE/RL's Radio Farda reported that the protest at the bazaar began in a clothing market and soon spread to other markets -- including a relatively more modern area where home appliances are sold.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank Governor Valliollah Seyf on June 25 responded to the rapidly falling value of the rial by announcing plans to launch "a second foreign exchange market" next week to battle black-market currency traders.

Speaking after a meeting between President Hassan Rohani and officials from the Economy Ministry, Seyf said the parallel market would operate based on different exchange rates for the U.S. dollar.

He was quoted by Iranian media as saying a rate of 42,000 rials per dollar would be set for "importing essential commodities including medicine," and that importers and exporters would "have to agree on the rate for importing non-essential goods."

The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), which is close to Rohani’s administration, reported on June 25 that a third exchange rate between 60,000 and 65,000 rials per dollar will be announced soon.

ISNA and the Mehr news agency also said that the state of confusion and ambiguity in the markets was reinforced by other officials who have spoken about plans for other foreign exchange rates.

The Tasnim news agency quoted the head of Iran's Chamber of Guilds, Ali Fazeli, as saying that the situation at the bazaar had calmed and that protesters' demands were being "delivered through the chamber to the government."

He made those remarks after the demonstrators -- chanting "Don’t fear, don’t fear, we are all together" -- marched to the Iranian parliament building.

As the crowd filed through the streets of the capital calling on others to join them, the size of the demonstration swelled into the thousands.

Similar economic demonstrations broke out across Iran at the end of 2017 and quickly spread to some 75 cities and towns -- growing into Iran's largest protests since unrest over the disputed 2009 presidential election.

Violence at those demonstrations, which continued into early January, left 25 dead and nearly 5,000 people detained by authorities.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and the BBC</s>Videos have surfaced across social media showing hundreds of protesters in Iran’s Tehran Bazaar on Monday, chanting slogans condemning the government’s failed economic policies.

Several activists shared videos of angry crowds of protesters shouting economic and political slogans like “We don’t want the dollar to be at 100,000 riyals” and “Strike”. People are also seen chanting at merchants to close their stalls at the bazaar.

Major strike NOW at the Tehran Bazaar. Anger at rgm's economic policies. Could have crippling effect. Ppl are chanting for merchants to close stalls: "Shut it down". Film via MEK network in Iran. The diaspora's June 30 #FreeIran2018 convention in Paris will support #IranProtests. pic.twitter.com/vUUWmEJku0 — M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) June 25, 2018

The Iranian rial plunged to a record low against the US dollar on the unofficial market on Sunday, continuing its drop amid fears of returning US sanctions after President Donald Trump in May withdrew from a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.

The dollar was being offered for as much as 87,000 rials, compared to around 75,500 on Thursday, the last trading day before Iran’s weekend, according to foreign exchange website Bonbast.com, which tracks the unofficial market.

#BREAKING: Protesters chanting "Death to the Dictator" in Iran capital. Today's #IranProtests in Tehran's Bazaar has spilled onto the streets. Ppl are angry over regime's economic policies. The diaspora's June 30 #FreeIran2018 convention in Paris will echo the call for democracy. pic.twitter.com/ScKHojfyuW — M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) June 25, 2018

As the protests are ongoing, a picture of Rouhani taking a walk in a sporting outfit caused more anger among social media users, where Iranian activists criticized Rouhani’s ignoring of the country’s economic crisis.

There were also several reports of currency exchange offices in Tehran not buying or selling hard currencies, especially the US dollar, for fear of extreme currency fluctuations.

Several Iranian citizens have also noted that this decline in the Iranian riyal is directly affecting their everyday lives, as food prices have steadily risen. Many have begun buying and storing food items in bulk for fear of a rise in prices in the coming period.

To back up protesters in Iran, the main Iranian opposition the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has dedicated this year’s meeting in Paris to the cause: “#Free Iran; the Alternative”.

Chants today in Tehran: "We don't want the Dollar at 100,000 Rials" + "Strike!" Iran's ppl are angry at regime's corrupt policies that have crippled the economy. The diaspora's June 30 #FreeIran2018 convention in Paris will seek global solidarity w/ the #IranProtests. @nikkihaley pic.twitter.com/vxt8Esg9mG — M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) June 24, 2018

In last year’s address, Maryam Rajavi, President of the NCRI said that the regime is “besieged by the poor and unemployed youths who additionally want regime change”.

On June 30, Iranians from all over the world will gather in Paris to show their support for protesters and strikers in Iran. According to media reports, the event has attracted over 100,000 Iranian diaspora each year.

Similar to the current protests, the Tehran bazaar strike of 1979, which was nicknamed the pulse of the Iranian economy, was one of the main factors in the fall of the Shah’s rule at the time, and contributed greatly to his departure from the country.

Last Update: Monday, 25 June 2018 KSA 15:40 - GMT 12:40</s>Hundreds of Iranians in Tehran have joined street rallies against the country’s worsening economic conditions, creating the biggest anti-government protest in the Iranian capital in years.

Monday’s protest began at Tehran's Grand Bazaar, where Iranian state media and witnesses said shopkeepers shut their doors to protest the lack of business and the rial’s falling value, which has dropped 50 percent against the dollar in the past six months.

Video clips verified by VOA Persian and sent by Tehran residents showed hundreds of striking shopkeepers and other protesters marching through the streets of central Tehran near the bazaar and chanting anti-government slogans.

In one clip, crowds chanted slogans accusing Iranian authorities of incompetence and lack of feeling.

In another video, demonstrators chanted “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon — my soul sacrifices only for Iran.”

The Iranian government's long-running supply of weapons and other resources to Islamist militant allies in Gaza, Lebanon and other parts of the region has angered many Iranians who say the money should be spent on fixing economic problems at home. Chants against that practice have been heard in frequent, small-scale anti-government protests across Iran since December, mostly outside Tehran.

Multiple videos of Monday’s protest shared on social media also showed Iranian security forces firing tear gas at some of the protesters in central Tehran.

Iranian state news agency Tasnim quoted Ali Fazeli, the head of Iran’s Chamber of Guilds business association, as saying that the protest at the Grand Bazaar had fizzled out later Monday.

The protest coincided with the Iranian rial weakening to a record low of 90,000 to the dollar on the black market in recent days. Iran’s government set an official, fixed exchange rate of 42,000 rials to the dollar earlier this year and banned trading at other rates to try to stop the rial’s decline, but black market activity has continued.

The rial has been under pressure since the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal last month and started the process of re-imposing U.S. sanctions on the Iranian economy.

In an interview with VOA Persian, Iranian-American economist Siamack Shojai, dean of the Cotsakos College of Business at William Paterson University in New Jersey, said the rial’s slump has put the shopkeepers of Tehran's Grand Bazaar in a dilemma.

He said one option for the shopkeepers is to illicitly use the black market exchange rate to price their products, which would cover their costs of acquiring those products but also make them much more expensive for customers. Shojai said the shopkeepers’ other option is to price their products using the official exchange rate, which would keep prices affordable for customers but leave those shopkeepers with considerable losses.

The dollar’s surging black market value also has led the Iranian central bank to ration its supply of the U.S. currency to Iranians, Shojai said.

In one move aimed at conserving those dollar reserves, Iranian Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari has banned the import of 1,339 products categorized as “non-essential goods” that he said can instead be produced within the country. Iran’s Financial Tribune newspaper announced the ban in a report published Monday, attributing a letter by the minister dated June 20.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Persian Service. .​</s>Tehran was rocked by protests today. Protesters confronted police officers in front of parliament and swarmed Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, forcing its closure (according to this account, though, merchants themselves initiated the shutdown to protest skyrocketing prices).

Rising prices and other economic woes are, indeed, at the heart of the protests, which in recent days have also forced the closure of major shopping centers in Tehran. Iran’s economy seems to be cratering, and its currency, the Iranian rial, has plummeted to 90,000 to the U.S. dollar on the black market. At the end of last year, it was 43,000.

Earlier this year, I noted Iran’s runaway inflation, and its possible consequences for the regime. Since then, things have gotten worse, as President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will withdraw from the nuclear deal fuels economic pessimism.

But there’s more to the protests than just economic discontent. Protesters reportedly carried signs and shouted chants expressing disgust with the regime’s foreign adventurism — e.g., “Palestine, Syria are reasons of our misery” and “Let go of Syria, think of us.” They blame Iranian foreign and military policy for the state of the economy.

President Obama may have outsmarted us all, and especially himself. His Iran deal raised expectations that, with sanctions lifted and cash flowing in, Iran’s economy would soar. But with so many resources being diverted to Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, etc. (and some no doubt flowing to the coffers of various ayatollahs), the peoples’ expectations are not close to being met. That’s a recipe for protests, at a minimum.

That protests have shut down the Grand Bazaar seems particularly significant. As this report explains, the Grand Bazaar has long been a center of conservatism in Iranian politics. In 1979, its merchants supported the Islamic Revolution. Since then, they have supported the theocracy.

The Grand Bazaar remains an economic force in Iran, notwithstanding the construction of massive malls. Losing that backing would be a blow to the regime.

Nor is discontent in the bazaars confined to Tehran. I’m told that the closures have spread from Tehran’s Grand Bazaar to other cities — Mashhad, Bandar Abbas, Karaj, Isfahan and even Qeshm Island.

Is this the beginning of a revolution? It would be premature to say so. But the Iranian protests are worth keeping a close eye on.</s>Thousands of traders in the Iranian capital's Grand Bazaar have held a rare strike against the collapse of the rial on the foreign exchange market.

Iran's currency has plunged almost 50 percent in value in the past six months, with the US dollar now buying around 85,000 rials on the open market.

The rial's decreased value is expected to result in an increase in the price of imported goods and push up the inflation rate.

"The demands of bazaar traders are legitimate. They want the situation on the foreign exchange market to be clarified once and for all," Abdollah Esfiandari, head of the historical covered market's administrative board, told ISNA news agency on Monday.

He said the strike in Tehran was against "the high exchange rate, foreign currency fluctuations ... goods being blocked at customs, and the lack of clear criteria for duties".

Shops had their metal shutters down throughout the market, a 45-year-old carpet trader who grew up in the area told AFP news agency. "It's the first time in my life that I have seen this."

Ahmad Karimi Isfahani, the general secretary of the Islamic Society of Tehran Guilds and Bazaar said that shopkeepers opened their shops after the strike to resume activities, but that did not mean that their demands have been met.

"We have repeatedly given the authorities notices and we cannot control the market situation with current the current state," he said.

"Today, the market returned to normal and shopkeepers have opened their shops."

"The businesses want to maintain the security of the bazaar," he added, saying that the traders hope for a return of stability to the economy..

ISNA also reported that trade union leaders met the Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade to discuss resolving faltering business and trade.

Iran has faced mounting economic woes since the United States in May pulled out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers that lifted international sanctions in exchange for a scaling back of the Islamic republic's atomic programme.</s>Traders in the Iranian capital's Grand Bazaar held a rare protest strike Monday against the collapse of the rial on the foreign exchange market as demonstrators also took to the streets.

At a crossroads in central Tehran, police fired tear gas at dozens of youths shouting slogans and throwing stones, an AFP photographer said.

"The demands of bazaar traders are legitimate. They want the situation on the foreign exchange market to be clarified once and for all," Abdollah Esfiandari, head of the historical covered market's administrative board, told ISNA news agency.

He said the protest was against "the high exchange rate, foreign currency fluctuations... goods being blocked at customs, and the lack of clear criteria for duties".

Shops had their metal shutters down throughout the market, said 45-year-old carpet trader who grew up in the area. "It's the first time in my life that I have seen this."

Iran's currency has plunged almost 50 percent in value in the past six months, with the US dollar now buying around 85,000 rials on the open market.

"Anti-riot police intervened" to disperse a protest in the Grand Bazaar, making two arrests, according to another carpet merchant.

Iran has faced mounting economic woes since the United States in May pulled out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers that lifted international sanctions in exchange for a scaling back of the Islamic republic's atomic programme.</s>Protesters in the Iranian capital reportedly swarmed its historic Grand Bazaar on Monday and forced shopkeepers to close their stalls, apparently angry over the Islamic Republic’s troubled economy.

It wasn’t immediately clear who was leading the protests. Iran‘s semi-official ISNA news agency described the protests as erupting after the Iranian rial dropped to 90,000 to the dollar on the country’s black market, despite government attempts to control the currency rate.

Videos posted to social media showed protesters at the bazaar heckling shopkeepers who refused to close, shouting in Farsi: “Coward!”

Iran’s latest economic troubles come against the backdrop of international firms pulling away from the country after President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

At the end of last year, similar economic protests roiled Iran and spread to some 75 cities and towns, becoming the largest demonstrations in the country since its 2009 disputed presidential election. The protests in late December and early January saw at least 25 people killed and nearly 5,000 people arrested by authorities.</s>Protesters in the Iranian capital swarmed its historic Grand Bazaar on Monday, news agencies reported, and forced shopkeepers to close their stalls in apparent anger over the Islamic Republic's troubled economy, months after similar demonstrations rocked the country.

The unplanned demonstration came a day after protests forced two major shopping centers for mobile phones and electronics to close in Tehran. It also signaled widespread unease beneath the surface in Iran in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.

It wasn't immediately clear who led the protests. Iran's semi-official news agencies Fars, ISNA and Tasnim described the protests as erupting after the Iranian rial dropped to 90,000 to the dollar on the country's black market, despite government attempts to control the currency rate.

Videos posted to social media showed protesters at the bazaar heckling shopkeepers who refused to close, shouting in Farsi: "Coward!"

The head of Iran's Chamber of Guilds, Ali Fazeli, later was quoted by Tasnim as saying the situation at the bazaar is calm.

"Their demands are delivered through the chamber to the government, and these are being pursued by us," he said.

Tehran's sprawling Grand Bazaar has long been a center of conservatism in Iranian politics and remains an economic force within the country — despite the construction of massive malls around the city. Bazaar families opposed the Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and supported the 1979 Islamic Revolution that saw him replaced by the Shiite theocracy and elected officials.

At the end of last year, similar economic protests roiled Iran and spread to some 75 cities and towns, becoming the largest demonstrations in the country since its 2009 disputed presidential election. The protests in late December and early January saw at least 25 people killed and nearly 5,000 people arrested by authorities.

However, those protests largely struck Iran's provinces as opposed to Tehran itself. Analysts believe hard-liners likely encouraged the first protest that took place in Mashhad to weaken the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate cleric within Iran's politics. The protests then spiraled out of control, with people openly criticizing both Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Rouhani's government has struggled with the economic problems, which have seen high unemployment. A government-set exchange rate of 42,000 rials to $1 has quickly been surpassed in the black market. On Monday, state television quoted Iranian Central Bank chief Valiollah Seif as saying the government plans to create a parallel market next week to combat the black market.

Meanwhile, some hard-liners have called for new elections or for Rouhani's civilian government to be replaced by a military-led one. The Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran's hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, made a point Monday to publish an article from the Sobh-e No daily newspaper describing the government as being ready to "bow down to foreign threats and sit at the negotiation table."
Tehran's Grand Bazaar starts a large strike after Iranian rial plunged to a record low against the US dollar on the market.