Arrest of 'Many' Protesters; Merchant Gatherings Spread to Other Cities in Iran

Protests that began on Sunday, July 3, in commercial complexes in Tehran and led to the closure of the Tehran market on Monday continued on Tuesday, with reports indicating that these protests have 'expanded' to markets in several other cities in Iran. On Tuesday, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, reported the 'arrest of many' protesters and warned them. The protests around the market and adjacent streets are related to 'fluctuations in the exchange rate,' but protests have also spread to some areas in southern Tehran where political slogans are being heard. The Fars news agency reported on Tuesday that 'while the Tehran market was supposed to open today and union leaders promised that shops would open, parts of the Tehran market are closed today according to observations by Fars reporters.' The report adds that 'currently, a group has gathered on 15 Khordad Street in Tehran and is chanting slogans.' This news agency described these slogans as causing 'fear and terror.' Other reports indicate that on Tuesday, the second day of the nationwide strike in the Tehran market, the market between the holy shrines is closed, and merchants are chanting: 'A merchant with dignity, unity, unity.' Videos from the gold market in Tabriz and the market in Kermanshah also appeared on social media, dated Tuesday, July 5, showing the closure of these markets and the protest slogans of merchants. On Sunday, two shopping complexes, 'Aladdin' and 'Charso,' primarily dedicated to the buying and selling of mobile phones and digital goods, witnessed protests, with demonstrators marching on 'Jomhouri' Street against the disarray in the currency market. Following this, Tehran market vendors closed their shops on Monday morning in protest against recent price hikes, and a number of protesters gathered in Baharestan Square; reports indicate that security forces attacked the demonstrators with tear gas. 'The arrest of many individuals' Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, reported on Tuesday the 'identification' of individuals who, according to him, 'attempted to threaten merchants to close their shops yesterday,' stating that 'many of these individuals have been arrested and detained.' According to the Tasnim news agency, he added, 'I inform these individuals and their families that they will not be released until they are tried.' The Tehran prosecutor further stated, 'My message to the rioters in the areas of security and economy is that the judiciary will fight against any insecurity and riots in the economic sphere, and the accused will not be released until their trial, just like in the riots of December and March.' In this context, Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the Kayhan newspaper, implicitly suggested on Tuesday that plainclothes forces should be present among the people to prevent gatherings in the market. Meanwhile, videos of gatherings in the Javadieh neighborhood of Tehran on Tuesday night showed participants chanting 'Death to the dictator.' According to Abdollah Esfandiari, the head of the central market trustees in Tehran, the merchants' protests are directed at 'currency inflation and its fluctuations' and 'instability in customs,' to the extent that merchants 'cannot make decisions and sell their goods at all due to market fluctuations.' On Sunday, the prices of various currencies in the Tehran free market surged again, with the price of each US dollar reaching a new record of nearly 9,000 tomans. During the protest gathering on Tuesday in Sabzeh Meydan, near the market, chants of 'We don't want a ten-toman dollar' were heard. Discussion of 'conspiracy against the government' Some government officials have implicitly accused principlists and institutions under the Supreme Leader of organizing these gatherings. For instance, Hesamoddin Ashna, an advisor to the President, wrote on Twitter that 'the voice of the street and the passage and the market must be heard. The first is the voice of the people, but more contemplation is needed in distinguishing the second and third voices so that the voice of the merchant brokers is not mistaken for the voice of the worried impoverished.' Meanwhile, the Jomhouri Islami newspaper described the gatherings on Tuesday as a 'conspiracy against the government' and warned that 'the conspiracy against the government will not remain at this stage.' The newspaper wrote: 'Those who do not think this government will go and that they will form a government themselves and remain in power should not be mistaken. The way to protect the interests of the people, the country, and the system is to protect the established government.' This newspaper's reference may point to the remarks of some close associates of the Supreme Leader who have spoken about the dismissal of Hassan Rouhani's government. For instance, Rahim Safavi, a military advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei, stated on Sunday that 'sometimes it seems that if there were no government, the country would be better managed.' Meanwhile, some representatives of the Stability Front in the parliament have spoken about presenting a plan for 'the political incompetence of the President.' In response to these remarks, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, stated on Tuesday: 'The insistence of some to portray the government as inefficient is not limited to the recent period; in the previous period, all their efforts were the same, but the people confirmed not the views of the opposition to the government in the elections, but the views of the government itself.' He added, 'For some, the elections are still not over, and some are trying to create insecurity in the country and generate inflationary expectations among the people.' Non-public parliamentary session Simultaneously with the continuation of the strike in parts of the Tehran market on Tuesday, the Islamic Consultative Assembly held a non-public session to discuss Iran's economic 'disorder,' with some representatives describing the country's situation as a 'economic war' by the US against Iran. Fatemeh Zolghadr, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, reported in an interview with the ISNA news agency that the parliament discussed 'economic disorders' in a non-public session on Tuesday morning. According to Ms. Zolghadr, in this session, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Parliament, spoke about fluctuations in the exchange rate and the protests of merchants and vendors. Ms. Zolghadr did not mention the details of the Speaker's remarks. Meanwhile, several members of parliament described the current situation in the country as an 'economic war' by the US against Iran. For instance, Nader Qazizpour, a representative from Urmia, stated on Tuesday in a warning during the public session of the parliament that 'economic war is more dangerous and complicated than military war' and added, 'Those who have brought our economy to this state should be executed.' Gholamreza Heydari, a representative from Tehran, also wrote on Twitter that the remarks of government officials in the non-public session of the parliament on Sunday should be reported to the Supreme Leader 'so that if they want to push us toward an all-out economic war, a kind of review is made in the approaches.' On the other hand, Iranian media reported on Tuesday morning about a new government plan to establish a three-tier dollar pricing system; Valiollah Seif, the head of the Central Bank of Iran, announced the creation of a 'secondary currency market' and stated that under this plan, the currency price would be set at three tiers, and for 'non-essential goods,' currency would be traded based on an agreement between exporters and importers. According to Mr. Seif, the import of 'essential goods,' including medicine, would continue as before at the rate of 4,200 tomans per dollar. The ISNA news agency estimated that the third currency rate could be between 6,000 and 6,500 tomans. However, according to reports, the new currency prices are currently unclear in the market, and no transactions are taking place.