Tehran bazaar merchants went on strike in protest against inflation and the rising exchange rate.
Images shared on social media and some domestic media indicate a protest gathering by merchants in Tehran’s bazaar due to the successive surge in the dollar rate and rampant inflation.
Following the strike and gathering of shopkeepers on Sunday, December 30th, in protest against high prices and inflation, Hamidreza Rastgar, head of the Tehran Chamber of Guilds, stated in an interview with ILNA that the reason for this protest is the continuous increase in the exchange rate.
He noted that the impact of foreign exchange rates on the final price of goods in our country is an undeniable reality, and said that producers are worried that offering goods, whose raw materials are produced at the exchange rate of 81,000 tomans, might be beyond the purchasing power of the people.
Protest gatherings among tradespeople in the shoemaking, fabric selling, clothing sectors, as well as merchants in the Sepahsalar Garden’s bag and shoe market, have been reported.
Videos shared on social media show that some shopkeepers, by closing their businesses, have called on other market activists to join the strike, chanting slogans like ‘Courageous bazaar, support, support’ and ‘Don’t be afraid, close up.’