Some shopkeepers at the Alaeddin Mobile Market, a well-known electronics mall in central Tehran, and the Charsou Commercial Complex protested the rise in the price of the U.S. dollar by closing their shops. Videos shared on social media show a tense atmosphere around Hafez Bridge, a major overpass in central Tehran.
From around the afternoon of Sunday, December 28, videos circulated on social media showing shopkeepers at the Alaeddin Mall beginning their protest from inside the complex after shutting their stores, chanting slogans such as “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid / we are all together.”
Other videos show the shopkeepers leaving the mall and moving toward Hafez Bridge at the intersection of Jomhuri Street and Hafez Street in Tehran.
At the same time, other videos were published showing similar protests by shopkeepers at the Charsou Commercial Complex, located opposite the Alaeddin Mall.
The rise in the price of the dollar, which directly affects all sectors of Iran’s economy, has accelerated sharply over the past month. At the same time as the protests at the Alaeddin Mall, the price of one U.S. dollar in the free market surpassed 1.44 million rials.
Yesterday, December 27, each U.S. dollar was trading at 1.37 million rials, while one month earlier on the same day, the free-market price was 1.14 million rials per dollar.
This is while a worker’s base monthly wage barely reaches 115 dollars.
In recent months, runaway inflation and the rising value of foreign currencies have intensified concerns about the deterioration of Iran’s economic conditions.
Price Of Dollar and Gold Surge to Unprecedented Levels in Iran
Over the past year, the prices of food items in Iran have increased by an average of more than 66%. Even official sources have confirmed the uncontrolled rise in prices in Iran.
The Statistical Center of Iran, a state-run body, reported on December 27 that the country’s point-to-point inflation rate had exceeded 52%.
