Tear Gas Attack on Protesters in Front of Parliament

Security forces attempted to disperse a gathering of bazaar merchants in front of parliament using tear gas. Videos report the burning of special police unit motorcycles and fires in Ferdowsi Square and Istanbul Junction and other areas of Tehran.

Following a gathering of protesting bazaar merchants in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, security forces attacked them with tear gas.

On social networks, particularly Twitter, videos have been published of special police unit motorcycles being set on fire at Istanbul Junction and Ferdowsi Square.

The content of the protesters’ slogans has gone beyond trade union demands and is directed at government leaders, including attacks on the leader of the Islamic Republic.

Measures by Officials Following Tehran Bazaar Strike

According to the political and security deputy of the Tehran governor, meetings will be held with representatives of the protesting trades. He added that some “hostile networks” have called for nationwide gatherings and expressed hope that people will not comply.

Following the strike and protest demonstrations by Tehran bazaar merchants on Sunday and Monday, the 3rd and 4th of Tir (June 24-25), the political and security deputy of the Tehran governor announced that a provincial security council meeting would be held to examine the situation in the Tehran market and the demands of the merchants.

According to ILNA news agency, from the morning of Monday, the 4th of Tir (June 25), shopkeepers in the kilogram market, cloth merchants, Tehran’s national bazaar, shoemakers, Sabze Midan, Abbas Abad, goldsmiths, and currency exchange shops had closed their shops.

It is said that police forces were unable to confront the protesters and could not convince them to calm down.

Abdolazim Rezaei told ILNA news agency: Given the formation of the Tehran province security council meeting, necessary coordination has been undertaken to hold meetings with the protesters and protesting trades through the Ministry of Industry and Mines and the trade guilds.

While security forces were attacking the protesters in front of parliament with tear gas, the political and security deputy of the Tehran governor told ILNA news agency: “Calm has now returned to the Tehran market and there is no gathering or unrest. He said that no one has been arrested so far.”

Rezaei warned about the call by some “hostile networks” and said: “We are confident that our people are aware and know the conspiracies of Iran’s enemies well and will not respond to this call.”

The secretary general of the Central Association of Islamic Trade Guilds and Market emphasized: “For forty years we did not have this kind of movement to close the market, but today this happened and it seems to us that the only reason is mismanagement within the country.”

Ahmad Karimi Esfahani, in an interview with ILNA reporter, about the situation in the Tehran market today said: “Given that some people came to the market and I naturally do not know who they were, but given that the ground for it was prepared in the market and there was discontent among merchants and the market, they closed the market for about two or three hours.”

Karimi Esfahani directed his attacks at the Rouhani government regarding the cause of the protests and added: “The government should know that there is such fire under the ashes, the reason for which is economic instability and our current economic situation. The government and the head of government and his economic team created the utmost negligence and mismanagement in this matter and at the same time there was dishonesty on their part and they spoke without honesty with the people and these created the ground for this.”

The secretary general of the Central Association of Islamic Trade Guilds and Market emphasized: “For forty years we did not have this kind of movement in the market to close it, but today this happened and it seems to us that it is only and solely due to mismanagement within the country.”

Karimi Esfahani, referring to economic instability in the country, stated: “The prices of goods are constantly increasing and on the other hand, someone who sells a commodity cannot supply its replacement again and no one buys and sells, and this instability has caused neither the buyer nor the seller to be satisfied.”

Source: DW