Tehran bazaar merchants went on strike in protest against inflation and the rise in currency rates.
Images shared on social media and some domestic media indicate a protest gathering of merchants in Tehran’s bazaar due to the consecutive 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, the head of Tehran’s Chamber of Guilds, stated in an interview with ILNA that the reason for this protest is the continuous increase in currency rates.
He pointed out that the impact of foreign currency prices on the final cost of goods in our country is an undeniable reality, and he said that producers are worried that the supply of goods, whose raw materials are produced at an exchange rate of 81,000 tomans, will be beyond the purchasing power of the people.
Protest gatherings have been reported among tradesmen of shoemaking, fabric sellers, clothing, as well as bag and shoe merchants in Bagh Sepahsalar.
Videos shared on social media suggest that some shopkeepers, by closing their businesses, have called other market activists to strike and have chanted slogans like ‘Support, support, brave bazaar!’ and ‘Don’t be afraid, close up!’
