On the third day of protests by bazaar merchants in response to the dire economic situation, shopkeepers in various cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, Shiraz, Kermanshah, and Najafabad, closed their shops and held protest gatherings.
Following calls issued by student organizations and activists, students in various cities across the country, including Tehran, Isfahan, and Yazd, joined the wave of protests on Tuesday, December 30.
Bazaar Protests Expand to Various Parts of Tehran and Other Cities in Iran
Students at the University of Tehran, pointing to the security siege around the campus, called on citizens to move toward the University of Tehran so that students could join the public.
Protesters at their gatherings chanted slogans including “Death to the dictator,” “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, I sacrifice my life for Iran,” “Death to the principle of Velayat-e Faqih,” and “Death to this high cost of living, we will go until overthrow.”
Protesting citizens in Kermanshah and on Jomhouri Street in Tehran stood their ground against repression forces and pushed the suppressors back.
Students at Yazd University also chanted “Neither threats nor prison have any effect anymore” on Tuesday evening, December 30.
Videos published on social media show that security forces fired tear gas and pellet bullets at protesters in Tehran’s bazaar. Special unit forces have arrested at least eleven protesting citizens in the Shoush area of Tehran.
Videos published on social media show that demonstrators gathered in the streets of Kermanshah, including around the traditional bazaar, and expressed their protests against rising prices, currency exchange rate fluctuations, and livelihood problems.
The internal security situation of the Iranian regime has reached a critical threshold, as scattered economic grievances are converging with broader political disobedience. According to this report, the current pattern of urban unrest indicates the formation of a link between the bazaar middle class and wider segments of dissatisfied society. The continuation of this situation could lead to the formation of a general uprising.
