Continued Strike of Goldsmiths Amid Disputes Between Government and Parliament

Following contradictory statements from officials of Ebrahim Raisi's government and the Islamic Consultative Assembly regarding the registration of goldsmiths' inventory in the 'Comprehensive Trade System', the strike of traders in this sector continued in several cities in Iran on Wednesday, May 16. Images and videos shared on social media indicate that the strike of gold and jewelry activists continues in cities such as Tehran, Yazd, and Sanandaj, as well as the strike of cosmetics and hygiene sellers in Arak and Tehran. At the same time, the head of the Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union announced the achievement of a 'preliminary agreement' between the government and activists in this field. Nader Badrafsan stated on Wednesday that 'based on the agreement made with the Anti-Smuggling Headquarters and the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, the regulations for registering gold inventory will be limited to three groups: producers, importers, and exporters.' According to him, the 'preliminary understanding and agreement' will be referred to the President and then sent through the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade to all chambers of commerce in Iran. This comes as members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly have recently opposed the government's action to exempt goldsmiths from registration in the Comprehensive Trade System. The spokesperson for the 90th Article Commission in Parliament, Ali Khazarian, stated on Tuesday, May 15, that this commission considers the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade's announcements regarding the exemption of the gold sector from data registration to be 'illegal.' He mentioned that the lack of oversight in the gold market has led to issues such as money laundering, currency fluctuations, and off-system transactions. So far, multiple meetings between the boards of the gold and jewelry unions of Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, Yazd, Isfahan, and Tabriz with relevant officials have been fruitless. On the other hand, Islamic Republic officials have attempted to force traders in this sector to comply with government orders, such as sealing shopping centers and goldsmith shops in Mashhad, but this action has had no effect according to videos shared on social media. The goldsmiths' protests against the government's order for registration in the Comprehensive Trade System in the second half of last year also led to strikes that ended with government promises to address the issues. Mehdi Jalali, a member of the Babol Gold and Jewelry Union, noted in an article in Shargh newspaper on Wednesday that the conflict between the government and the gold and jewelry sector relates to issues such as the requirement for goldsmiths to accurately register all gold assets, ambiguity in data security regarding the entry of information into the government system, and the obligation for goldsmiths to obtain national IDs from buyers. According to this gold and jewelry activist, about 100,000 people are employed in gold production workshops in Iran, and the continuation of strikes will cause significant problems for about two million family members of those active in this sector.