Traders and shopkeepers in Tehran staged a second day of protests after the rial plunged to record lows, with major demonstrations on Saadi Street and near the Grand Bazaar. The rial fell to roughly 1.38–1.42 million per U.S. dollar, while annual inflation climbed to 42.2% in December. Food and medical prices have surged, and planned tax hikes and recent fuel-price changes are deepening public economic worries amid renewed sanctions and regional tensions.
Tehran Shopkeepers Hold Second Day Of Protests As Rial Plunges To Record Low
FILE — A currency exchange bureau worker counts U.S. dollars at Ferdowsi square, Tehran's go-to venue for foreign currency exchange, in downtown Tehran, Iran, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
TEHRAN — Traders and shopkeepers across Tehran staged a second consecutive day of protests on Monday after the Iranian rial plunged to fresh record lows against the U.S. dollar, fueling public anger over soaring prices and shrinking household budgets.
Social media footage showed hundreds of demonstrators gathering on Saadi Street in central Tehran and in the Shush district near the capital’s historic Grand Bazaar, a longtime commercial hub that played a central role in the 1979 revolution. Witnesses told The Associated Press that many shopkeepers shuttered their storefronts and urged others to do the same.
The semi-official ILNA news agency reported that numerous businesses suspended trading, although some merchants remained open. There were no confirmed reports of police raids, but witnesses said security was visibly tight around the demonstrations.
On Sunday, protests were concentrated at two major outdoor markets in downtown Tehran where demonstrators chanted slogans critical of the government. The currency fell to roughly 1.42 million rials per U.S. dollar on Sunday and was trading around 1.38 million rials per dollar on Monday.
The sharp depreciation of the rial is intensifying inflationary pressures, pushing up the cost of food and everyday goods and squeezing household budgets. Observers warned the situation could worsen after recent adjustments to gasoline prices that have added to consumer costs.
Official statistics show the annual inflation rate rose to 42.2% in December, up 1.8 percentage points from November. Food prices jumped by 72% year-on-year and health and medical costs increased by 50%, figures many critics say point toward the risk of runaway inflation.
State-aligned media reports that the government plans to raise taxes when the Iranian calendar year begins on March 21 have heightened public anxiety. Market unease has also been driven by geopolitical worries: the rial traded at about 32,000 per dollar when the 2015 nuclear deal eased sanctions; the U.S. withdrawal from that deal in 2018 and renewed tensions — including a June confrontation involving Iran and Israel — have added uncertainty.
International pressure: In September, the U.N. reimposed nuclear-related sanctions through the so-called "snapback" mechanism, freezing assets and restricting some transactions tied to Tehran’s missile program — measures that have further strained Iran’s economy.
