Localized protests have broken out in Iran’s capital, Tehran, amid a sharp deterioration in the value of the Iranian rial, as the US dollar surged past the 1.4 million rial threshold, equivalent to 140,000 tomans.
Iranian media reported that growing financial pressure on business owners has triggered at least two protest gatherings in central Tehran, developments that analysts say could signal renewed momentum for protest activity across the country.
According to the Iranian news agency Fars News Agency, groups of traders and business owners assembled over the past two days at the Shahr-e Chahar shopping center and along Lalehzar Street, both key commercial areas of Tehran. Demonstrators focused on the sharp volatility in foreign exchange rates and its direct impact on wholesale and retail prices.
Witnesses cited by the agency said the number of protesters reached around 200 people. Small clusters of demonstrators, numbering between five and ten individuals, were seen chanting slogans that went beyond purely economic grievances, according to the report.
In its analysis of the events, Fars linked the gatherings to calls made by Maryam Rajavi, leader of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, also known as the MEK. The agency described the group as having ties to the United States and Israel and accused it of involvement in a series of violent acts inside Iran.
The agency cited sources as saying that the aim of such calls and slogans was to undermine social stability in Iran as a means of creating broader political instability.
Iran’s economy has been under sustained strain from multiple pressures, including international sanctions, high inflation and limited access to foreign currency. These factors have contributed to ongoing hardship for households and businesses, as well as continued volatility in the foreign exchange market.
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