Marketers' strike continues in Tehran and several Iranian cities to protest dollar fluctuations and economic recession
Some reports and images published on social media indicate that the strike continued for a second day in some areas of Tehran's bazaar and several other cities in Iran.
According to these images, most shops on the streets of Lalehzar, Tehran, and the Goldsmiths' Row of the Grand Bazaar were closed on Tuesday, July 25, in protest against currency market fluctuations, the continued price increase of goods, and the recession.
There have also been reports of the closure of the Yaftabad and Delavaran furniture markets in Tehran, the Kermanshah market, and the Vakil market in Shiraz.
Images posted on social media show a group of market vendors encouraging other shopkeepers to close their shops and continue the strike. There have also been reports of trash cans being set on fire and gatherings in the streets surrounding the market.
Meanwhile, the communications director of the metro operating company announced that Mellat station on metro line 2 was temporarily closed due to the protests. It was also reported that at least two people were injured during the attack by officers on protesting market vendors.
On Monday, the marketers of Tehran's Grand Bazaar and a group of merchants on Jomhuri Street went on strike and protested on Monday, July 4th, in protest of the chaos in the foreign exchange market, high prices, stagnation, and confusion among customers and sellers.
Other images also showed that a group of businessmen from Mashhad, Bandar Abbas, and Qeshm also closed their shops and marched.
According to the released videos, after closing their shops, the marketers marched and chanted slogans such as “Our enemy is here, they lie, it’s America” and “Death to the thugs and freeloaders.” The rally was later met with police clashes and tear gas in some areas.
Some protesters also chanted the slogan "Reza Shah, may your soul rest in peace."
Some reports indicated that police attacked shopkeepers in the market with batons and forced them to open their shops. Another report indicated that a group of marketers also went to the front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly building and chanted slogans.
Images published on social media indicate that a special police unit fired tear gas to disperse people in front of the parliament.
Monday's strike has also drawn reactions from Iranians and the opposition abroad as a sign of solidarity with the protesters in Iran.
In several Twitter messages, Prince Reza Pahlavi referred to the deep economic problems in Iran and wrote that these problems are the result of decades of incompetence by the rulers and have finally led to street protests by the people.
Maryam Rajavi, leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, also tweeted that while the country is suffering from economic problems, the government is wasting the country's wealth on exporting war and terrorism.
Many Iranians and Iranian-Americans have tweeted links to demonstrations in the Iranian capital on television news networks, calling for the Iranian communities in the United States to express solidarity with the protesters in Iran.
On Sunday, following the sudden increase in the free dollar rate to more than 8,000 tomans and approaching 9,000 tomans, mobile phone sellers in the two main markets for this product in Tehran, Alaeddin Passage and Chaharsu, closed their shops and gathered in protest of the high prices of goods and the fluctuating exchange rate.
The fluctuation in the dollar rate in Tehran's free foreign exchange market intensified in the past two days, and each US dollar reached about 9,000 tomans at the end of Sunday.
Source: Voice of America
