TEHRAN, Iran — 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 centres for mobile phones and electronics to close in Tehran. It also signalled widespread unease beneath the surface in Iran in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw America 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 centre 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.”

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.</s>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on developments in Iran (all times local):

Videos posted on social media appear to show Iranian demonstrators confronting police officers in front of Iran's parliament in Tehran.

The footage on Monday shows tear gas in the air and protesters screaming, "They attacked us with tear gas!" Another man is heard shouting: "Come back!"

The protest came after demonstrators in the Iranian capital swarmed its historic Grand Bazaar earlier in the day and forced shopkeepers to close their stalls in apparent anger over the Islamic Republic's troubled economy.

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.

A semi-official news agency in Iran is reporting that protesters have swarmed Tehran's Grand Bazaar amid nationwide anger over the country's troubled economy.

The ISNA news agency said the protesters were forcing shopkeepers to close their stalls at the market on Monday.

Videos posted to social media showed protesters heckling those who refused to close, shouting in Farsi: "Coward!"

The Iranian rial has dropped to 90,000 to $1 on the country's black market, despite government attempts to control the currency rate.

The economic trouble also comes as international firms have pulled away from Iran after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.</s>Protests are now in their third day and the Iranian government has finally taken notice.

Protests in Tehran are now entering their third day and cities besides Iran’s capital are now host to protests against the country’s Islamic regime — and the regime is beginning to take notice.

Tuesday morning, members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard began an offensive against protesters in Tehran, sending them scattering across city parks, and in some cases subjecting demonstrators to violent beatings. – READ MORE</s>Protests continued in Iran for a second day Tuesday amid an economic crisis that many Iranians are blaming on their government’s foreign policies, even as Tehran dismissed the protests as “foreign media propaganda.”

At Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, protesters, including many local shopkeepers, urged owners to close their shops in an expanding strike following the collapse of the country’s currency amid the renewal of US sanctions over the regime’s nuclear program.

Videos posted on social media showed hundreds of people taking part at the bazaar on Tuesday and hundreds more marching down streets of Tehran.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday sought to calm growing discontent at the tanking economy, assuring the public the country would be able to withstand the new sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump in the wake of the American exit from the Iran nuclear deal earlier this year.

In speech broadcast live on state TV, Rouhani blamed the spontaneous demonstrations that erupted across the country a day earlier on “foreign media propaganda,” and accused the US of waging “an economic war” against Tehran.

“Even in the worst case, I promise that the basic needs of Iranians will be provided. We have enough sugar, wheat, and cooking oil. We have enough foreign currency to inject into the market,” Rouhani said according to the Reuters news agency.

The president accused Washington of waging a “psychological, economic and political war” on Iran, and warned it would pay a high price for exiting the 2015 accord that lifted international sanctions in exchange for a scaling back of Tehran’s atomic program.

“Withdrawal was the worst decision he [Trump] could make. It was appalling. It hurt America’s global reputation,” he added. “The US cannot defeat our nation, our enemies are not able to get us to their knees.”

The protests have seen unusual scenes of demonstrators chanting against continued Iranian spending of billions of dollars on regional proxy wars and support for terrorist groups, which many say has meant less investment in the struggling economy at home.

In recent years, Iran has provided financial aid to Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Shiite militias in Iraq. Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Tehran has poured a reported $6 billion into propping up president Bashar Assad’s government.

Monday’s protests in Tehran and around the country — including economically hard-hit cities like Kermanshah in western Iran — included shouts of “Death to Palestine,” “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon” and “Leave Syria and think of us.” Chants of “We don’t want the ayatollahs” and “Death to the dictator” were also heard at some rallies.

Police attempted to suppress the Monday protests in Tehran with tear gas, but early reports from Iran on Tuesday seem to indicate the demonstrations are only expanding.

#Iran| Protests erupted in the capital #Tehran for the third straight day – activists pic.twitter.com/qTnh5iL1eI — Asharq Al-Awsat English (@aawsat_eng) June 26, 2018

Monday’s protests in Tehran began at the capital’s sprawling Grand Bazaar, which has long been a center of conservatism in Iranian politics and where the ayatollahs’ 1979 Islamic Revolution first gathered pace. Protesters there forced storekeepers to close down their shops.

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 arrested.

#Iran,

Early morning in Tehran protesters chanting “Iran has become like Palestine,why don’t you stand up people”.

Yesterday protesters in Tehran and Shiraz also chanted “death to Palestine,death to Syria, death to the @bbcpersian.”

A very different picture from Iran.#TehranPars pic.twitter.com/y7DydD0Xn9 — Raman Ghavami (@Raman_Ghavami) June 26, 2018

However, those protests largely struck Iran’s provinces as opposed to Tehran itself. Analysts believe conservative elements in the regime may have encouraged the first protest that took place in Mashhad to try to weaken President Hassan Rouhani, considered a moderate member of the ruling ayatollah class. The protests then spiraled out of control, with people openly criticizing both Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The slogans heard at Monday’s rallies mark a shift in Iranian street protests, where “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” are commonly heard. The protests signaled widespread unease in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw America from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and restore sanctions on the country.

According to Hadashot TV news’s veteran Middle East analyst Ehud Ya’ari, Monday’s protests marked the first time that Iranians have chanted “Death to Palestine” during anti-regime protests.

In the last six months, Iran’s currency has lost almost 50 percent of its value, with the US dollar now buying around 85,000 rials on the open market.

Apart from the rial’s collapse, the Iranian private sector has long been starved of investment, its banking system is crippled by bad loans and record levels of unemployment mean a third of under-30-year-olds are out of work.

Rouhani’s government has struggled with the economic problems, including high unemployment. A government-set exchange rate of 42,000 rials to $1 has generated a vibrant 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 conservatives 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 paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, made a point Monday of publishing 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.”

Eshaq Jahangiri, Iran’s first vice president, was quoted Monday as saying, “We’re on the verge of an economic war by an economic terrorist,” referring to the US.

“Conditions will get worse in future,” Jahangiri said, according to the pro-reform Etemad daily newspaper. “Even our friends and neighbors like Russia, China and Europeans can’t help us today.”

Agencies contributed to this report.</s>(Iranian Labor News Agency via AP). A group of protesters chant slogans at the old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 25, 2018. Protesters in the Iranian capital swarmed its historic Grand Bazaar on Monday, news agencies reported, and forced sh...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Angry protesters in Iran's capital held a third day of demonstrations on Tuesday over the country's anemic economy as President Hassan Rouhani told the nation that it faces an "economic war" with the United States following America's pullout from the nuclear deal.

While online videos showed demonstrators again confronting police on Tehran's streets and alleyways, the protests looked far smaller than those on Monday, when security forces fired tear gas on crowds in front of parliament.

Earlier on Monday, demonstrators forced the temporary closure of Tehran's Grand Bazaar and on Sunday, protests forced two major shopping centers for mobile phones and electronics to close in Tehran.

Rage persists over the plunging of the Iranian rial to 90,000 to the dollar - double the government rate of 42,000 rials to $1 - as people watch their savings dwindle and shopkeepers hold onto some goods, uncertain of their true value.

Part of the economic uncertainty comes from President Donald Trump's decision to pull America out of the nuclear deal and re-impose sanctions on Iran, even though other world powers have pledged to stand by the accord.

Similar economic protests roiled Iran and spread to some 75 cities and towns at the end of last year, becoming the largest demonstrations in the country since the months-long rallies following the 2009 disputed presidential election. The protests in late December and early January saw at least 25 people killed and nearly 5,000 arrested, but took place largely in Iran's provinces rather than in the capital, Tehran.

These latest protests have hit Iranian commercial areas, including the sprawling, historic warrens of Tehran's Grand Bazaar, the home of conservative merchants who backed the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution and overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It remains unclear who is leading these protests, though analysts say hard-liners wanting to challenge Rouhani likely sparked the demonstrations at the end of last year.

On Tuesday, witnesses described a noticeable presence of riot police on the capital's streets. Official reports and comments also were slim in Iran's state-controlled media, though Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the "main provocateurs" of Monday's protests were arrested. He did not elaborate on the number of people detained.

The state-run IRNA news agency euphemistically referred to one incident Tuesday in which the city's metro line was temporarily shut down near the Grand Bazaar, saying it happened "because of some people gathered there."

On Tuesday morning, Rouhani addressed a meeting of judges that included the head of the country's judiciary and parliament. While a relative moderate within Iran's theocratic government, Rouhani struck a hard line himself against America.

"We are fighting against the United States, it wants to make an economic war," the president said. "The U.S. cannot defeat our nation; our enemies are not able to force us to their knees."

That's a far cry from the optimism shared by Rouhani and other Iranians when the 2015 nuclear deal was enacted between Iran and six world powers, including America. Iran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

But that deal came under Barack Obama's administration. Trump, who campaigned on a promise of tearing up the deal, pulled America out of the deal in May. The ensuing turmoil has seen international firms and oil companies back away from their own billion-dollar deals with Iran.

Rouhani's own power within Iran's government appears to be waning, with some openly calling for military officials to lead the country.

Iran also has suggested it could immediately ramp up its production of uranium in response to the U.S. pullout, potentially escalating the very situation the nuclear deal sought to avoid - having an Iran with a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that it could use to build atomic bombs.

Tehran has long denied wanting to build nuclear weapons, despite fears from the West and the United Nations.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, speaking at the same event as Rouhani, appeared to directly criticize his administration.

"The government hasn't done enough to confront the economic problems," the conservative politician said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Angry protesters in Iran’s capital held a third day of demonstrations on Tuesday over the country’s anemic economy as President Hassan Rouhani told the nation that it faces an “economic war” with the United States following America’s pullout from the nuclear deal.

While online videos showed demonstrators again confronting police on Tehran’s streets and alleyways, the protests looked far smaller than those on Monday, when security forces fired tear gas on crowds in front of parliament.

Part of the economic uncertainty comes from President Donald Trump’s decision to pull America out of the nuclear deal and re-impose sanctions on Iran, even though other world powers have pledged to stand by the accord.

Earlier on Monday, demonstrators forced the temporary closure of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and on Sunday, protests forced two major shopping centers for mobile phones and electronics to close in Tehran.

Rage persists over the plunging of the Iranian rial to 90,000 to the dollar — double the government rate of 42,000 rials to $1 — as people watch their savings dwindle and shopkeepers hold onto some goods, uncertain of their true value.

Part of the economic uncertainty comes from President Donald Trump’s decision to pull America out of the nuclear deal and re-impose sanctions on Iran, even though other world powers have pledged to stand by the accord.

Similar economic protests roiled Iran and spread to some 75 cities and towns at the end of last year, becoming the largest demonstrations in the country since the months-long rallies following the 2009 disputed presidential election. The protests in late December and early January saw at least 25 people killed and nearly 5,000 arrested, but took place largely in A group of protesters chant slogans at the old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran. Iran’s provinces rather than in the capital, Tehran.

These latest protests have hit Iranian commercial areas, including the sprawling, historic warrens of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, the home of conservative merchants who backed the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It remains unclear who is leading these protests, though analysts say hardliners wanting to challenge Rouhani likely sparked the demonstrations at the end of last year.

On Tuesday, witnesses described a noticeable presence of riot police on the capital’s streets. Official reports and comments also were slim in Iran’s state-controlled media, though Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the “main provocateurs” of Monday’s protests were arrested. He did not elaborate on the number of people detained.

The state-run IRNA news agency euphemistically referred to one incident Tuesday in which the city’s metro line was temporarily shut down near the Grand Bazaar, saying it happened “because of some people gathered there.</s>Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday his country is in a "fight" with the U.S., a day after protesters angered by Iran's tanking economy confronted police in front of parliament.

In a televised speech, Rouhani blamed the U.S. for Iran's woes and said the U.S. is trying to damage the country by creating "an economic war."

"The U.S. cannot defeat our nation, our enemies are not able to get us to their knees," he said.

Rouhani's comments came after protesters angered by Iran's tanking economy confronted police in front of parliament Monday. It was the first such confrontation since similar demonstrations rocked the country at the start of the year.

The demonstration signaled widespread unease in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and restore sanctions on the country.

It wasn't immediately clear who led Monday's protests. Iran's semi-official news agencies, Fars, ISNA and Tasnim, described the protests at the Grand Bazaar 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.

A short time later, about 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) from the Grand Bazaar, videos shared by Iranians on social media appeared to show a crowd confronting police at parliament.

Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported Tuesday that authorities detained many of the rioters.

Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the "main provocateurs" who planned the protest and threatened shopkeepers to close their stores were arrested. He did not elaborate on the number of people detained.

Still, semi-official ISNA news agency reported the country's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, said Tuesday that the Rouhani administration hasn't done enough to confront the economic problems.

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 arrested.

Iran has announced a list of 15 demands for improving relations with the United States, including a U.S. return to the 2015 nuclear accord, in response to a similar list of demands made by Washington last month.

In May, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a wholesale change in Iran's military and regional policies, threatening the "strongest sanctions in history" if it refused. The U.S. withdrew from the landmark nuclear agreement with world powers earlier that month.</s>LONDON: President Hassan Rouhani promised Iranians on Tuesday (Jun 26) the government would be able to handle the economic pressure of new United States sanctions, a day after traders massed outside parliament to protest at a sharp fall in the value of the national currency.

Fars news agency reported that parts of Tehran's Grand Bazaar were on strike for a second day, as protesters chanted slogans against the government in surrounding streets. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the report.

On Monday, police patrolled the bazaar following clashes with protesters angered by the rial's collapse, which is disrupting business by driving up the cost of imports.

Defending his economic record, Rouhani said the government’s income had not been affected in recent months, and the fall in the rial was the result of "foreign media propaganda".

"Even in the worst case, I promise that the basic needs of Iranians will be provided. We have enough sugar, wheat, and cooking oil. We have enough foreign currency to inject into the market," Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

Washington is to start reimposing economic penalties on Tehran in coming months after US President Donald Trump quit an agreement between major world powers and Iran in which sanctions were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

This may cut Iran's hard currency earnings from oil exports, and the prospect is triggering a panicked flight of Iranians' savings from the rial into dollars.

The International Monetary Fund estimated in March that the government held US$112 billion of foreign assets and reserves, and that Iran was running a current account surplus. These figures suggested Iran might withstand the sanctions without an external payments crisis.

Iran's judiciary chief warned on Tuesday that the "economic saboteurs", who he said were behind the fall of rial, would face severe punishment, including execution or 20 years in jail.

"The enemy is now trying to disrupt our economy through a psychological operation. In recent days some tried to shut down the Bazaar, but their plot was thwarted by the police," Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.

Tehran's prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi said some protesters near the bazaar were arrested on Monday and would not be released before going to trial.

The Iranian government is implementing new plans to control rising prices, including banning imports of over 1,300 products, preparing its economy to resist threatened US sanctions.

Rouhani said the fresh US sanctions were part of a "psychological, economic and political war", adding that Washington would pay a high price for its actions.

"Withdrawal was the worst decision he (Trump) could make. It was appalling. It hurt America's global reputation," he said.

In late December, demonstrations which began over economic hardship spread to more than 80 Iranian cities and towns. At least 25 people died in the ensuing unrest, the biggest expression of public discontent in almost a decade.

Demonstrators initially vented their anger over high prices and alleged corruption, but the protests took on a rare political dimension, with a growing number of people calling on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down.</s>Iranian President Hassan Rouhani lambasted on Tuesday US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme, and said Iranians will not give in to US pressure but would defend their independence and Islamic values.

Rouhani, in a speech broadcast live on state television, said Trump's action on the international deal was “appalling and Illegal” and had hurt America's global reputation.

Rouhani said Iran maintained the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.</s>TEHRAN, June 26 — President Hassan Rouhani promised Iranians the government would be able to handle the economic pressure of new US sanctions, a day after traders massed outside parliament, protesting against a sharp fall in the value of the national currency.

Washington is to start reimposing economic penalties on Tehran in coming months after US President Donald Trump quit an agreement between major world powers and Iran in which sanctions were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

This may cut Iran’s hard currency earnings from oil exports, and the prospect is triggering a panicked flight of Iranians’ savings from the rial into dollars.

Yesterday, police patrolled Tehran’s Grand Bazaar as security forces struggled to restore normality after clashes with protesters angered by the rial’s collapse, which is disrupting business by driving up the cost of imports.

Defending his economic record, Rouhani said the government’s income had not been affected in recent months, and the fall in the rial was the result of “foreign media propaganda”.

“Even in the worst case, I promise that the basic needs of Iranians will be provided. We have enough sugar, wheat, and cooking oil. We have enough foreign currency to inject into the market,” Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

Rouhani said the fresh US sanctions were part of a “psychological, economic and political war”, adding that Washington would pay a high price for its actions.

“Withdrawal was the worst decision he (Trump) could make. It was appalling. It hurt America’s global reputation,” he said. — Reuters
Protests in Iran, particularly the capital, Tehran, enter their second day as thousands of protestors demand action following a collapse in the value of the Iranian rial. President Hassan Rouhani takes to live TV to call the protests "foreign media propaganda" and says the United States is waging "psychological, economic and political war" with Iran. Protestors blame the Iranian government for the crisis, saying billions are being wasted on expensive conflicts. Iran blames sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump.