Rising inflation sparks rare protests in Iran
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday afternoon said his government would hear the legitimate demands of protesters after the largest demonstrations seen in three years broke out Sunday and Monday. Hundreds of people, including many bazaar merchants, marched in Tehran and other cities, after the value of Iran’s currency, the Rial, fell to a two-year low as measured against the U.S. dollar. Some chanted anti-regime slogans and smashed the vehicle of a government-affiliated cleric, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a dissident group. Government security forces used tear gas and batons against demonstrators in Tehran, the group reported.
While promising to listen, Pezeshkian threatened a harsh response to any aggression. Iran’s military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Monday also issued a statement saying it was prepared to confront any sedition or security threat. Enemies of the regime were seeking to recreate past unrest, it said.
Pezeshkian promised the government would work to reform the country’s monetary system. The Iranian rial plunged to approximately 1.4 million per U.S. dollar in December, according to Coinpedia. The president of the Central Bank resigned Monday, and the government reappointed former bank governor Abdolnasser Hemmati to the position, a state news agency, IRNA, reported.
Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on a meeting between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Comments (0)