Iranians have taken to the streets of Tehran this week in the biggest protests seen in the capital since 2012.
Thousands marched towards the gates of the Iranian parliament on Monday, forcing many traders to shut up shop. Police retaliated with tear gas, dispersing the crowds, but the protests continued yesterday and are spreading to other cities.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Donald Trump’s announcement last month that the US was withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal has triggered a sharp decline in the value of the Iranian rial, which in turn has seen import costs skyrocket.
There were about 65,000 rials to $1 on Iran’s unofficial currency exchange market prior to Trump’s decision, compared with 90,000 rials as of Monday.
“People in the Middle Eastern nation have watched their savings dwindle,” says Sky News.
There are also fears that the threatened return to US sanctions will cut Iran’s earnings from oil experts, further damaging the already declining economy.
“We are all angry with the economic situation. We cannot continue our businesses like this,” a merchant in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar told Reuters.
President Hassan Rouhani insists his government will be able to withstand the rapid currency drop and any new US sanctions. The Iranian leader spoke out after the Central Bank of Iran announced that it will create a secondary market for foreign exchange to help get around a dollar shortage.
Yesterday Rouhani declared: “We are fighting against the United States, it wants to make an economic war. The US cannot defeat our nation; our enemies are not able to force us to their knees.”
But such reassurances have done little to calm many Iranians’ fears.
-
Employees are branching out rather than moving up with career minimalismThe explainer From career ladder to lily pad
-
‘It is their greed and the pollution from their products that hurt consumers’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Jane Austen lives on at these timeless hotelsThe Week Recommends Here’s where to celebrate the writing legend’s 250th birthday
-
Pushing for peace: is Trump appeasing Moscow?In Depth European leaders succeeded in bringing themselves in from the cold and softening Moscow’s terms, but Kyiv still faces an unenviable choice
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
South Africa wraps up G20 summit boycotted by USSpeed Read Trump has been sparring with South Africa in recent months
-
Trump pushes new Ukraine peace planSpeed Read It involves a 28-point plan to end the war
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Why these Iraqi elections are so importantThe Explainer The US and Israel are increasingly pressuring Baghdad to tackle Iran-backed militants, while weakened Iran sees Iraq as a vital remaining ally
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
