Parts of Tehran’s Bazaar were shut down today, Wednesday, following the sudden drop in the price of the Iranian national currency and the turmoil in the market.
The Kaleme opposition website reports that on Nasser Khosro Street around the Bazaar, a large group of retailers and store owners gathered earlier today and began demonstrations.
Iran’s currency market has been experiencing extreme fluctuations in the past week, and the rial has lost 30 percent of its value, which has put producers and retailers in a precarious situation.
The Mehr News Agency has confirmed the closure of the Bazaar, reporting that a Bazaar official announced: “The Bazaar store owners have closed their stores for security purposes.”
He added that “a number of unidentified elements” are trying to create a disturbance in the Bazaar.
He said in recent days a number of text messages have been sent to Bazaar store owners in an attempt to “cause disturbances.”
According to the Kaleme website, the demonstrators chanted slogans against the government and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
ILNA has reported that Tehran’s foreign currency traders closed their stores today and have refrained from trading foreign currencies in response to the instability in the currency market.
