Iran’s president calls for dialogue with protesters after shopkeepers demonstrate over currency collapse and economic hardship in Tehran.
TEHRAN: Iran’s president has urged his government to listen to the “legitimate demands” of protesters, state media reported.
The call follows several days of demonstrations by shopkeepers in Tehran over severe economic hardships.
Shopkeepers in the capital shut their stores for a second consecutive day on Monday after Iran’s embattled currency hit new lows.
The US dollar traded at around 1.42 million rials on Sunday, compared to 820,000 rials a year ago, according to price monitoring websites.
“I have asked the Interior Minister to listen to the legitimate demands of the protesters by engaging in dialogue with their representatives,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Protesters are demanding immediate government intervention to rein in exchange-rate fluctuations and set a clear economic strategy, the ILNA news agency reported.
Price fluctuations are paralysing sales of some imported goods, with sellers and buyers postponing transactions, AFP correspondents noted.
“Continuing to do business under these conditions has become impossible,” ILNA quoted protesters as saying.
The Fars news agency released images showing a crowd of demonstrators occupying a major thoroughfare in central Tehran.
Another photograph appeared to show tear gas being used to disperse protesters.
Fars reported minor physical clashes between some protesters and security forces, warning such gatherings could lead to instability.
Iranian Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei called for the swift punishment of those responsible for currency fluctuations.
The government has also announced the replacement of the central bank governor.
“By decision of the president, Abdolnasser Hemmati will be appointed governor of the Central Bank,” a presidency official posted.
Hemmati is a former economy and finance minister dismissed by parliament in March over the rial’s sharp depreciation.
President Pezeshkian delivered the budget for the next Persian year to parliament on Sunday, vowing to fight inflation.
In December, official year-on-year inflation stood at 52%.
This figure still falls far short of many price increases, especially for basic necessities.
The country’s economy, already battered by decades of Western sanctions, was further strained after the UN reinstated international nuclear sanctions in late September.
