Gathering and Strike of Tehran Bazaar Merchants in Protest Against Rising Prices and Currency Rate Hikes

“Don’t Be Afraid, Don’t Be Afraid, Shut It Down, Shut It Down; Courageous Merchants, Support, Support!”

Today, Sunday, December 29, 2024, large sections of Tehran’s bazaar went on strike in protest against crippling price hikes and skyrocketing currency rates. They organized a protest march, urging other merchants to join the strike.
The strike and protest began in the Shoemakers’ Bazaar and quickly spread to the Rasteh Bazaar, Small Charsu, the Fabric Sellers’ Bazaar, Bagh Sepahsalar, Seyyed Vali Passage, Hammam Chal Passage, and the Coppersmiths’ Bazaar. Shortly afterward, the fabric sellers in Abbasabad Passage, Sepah Bazaar, and Mellat Passage also joined the strike. Protesters chanted: “Courageous merchants, support, support!” “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, shut it down, shut it down!” and “You can’t do business with an 80,000 toman dollar!”
In a statement, the merchants cited several reasons for their strike, including the shortage of raw materials due to soaring currency rates, severe economic stagnation caused by exorbitant prices, lack of liquidity in the market, and heavy taxes.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), praised the protesting and striking merchants. She stated that these protests are a significant part of the broader and growing wave of social unrest, including actions by workers, laborers, nurses, and retirees. The vast majority of Iran’s people, impoverished by the plundering, oppressive, and warmongering policies of the criminal clerical regime, face relentless inflation, declining purchasing power, power outages, and disastrous living conditions. This regime of murderers, destroyers of the land and its people, will undoubtedly be overthrown by the uprising and resistance of the people.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
29 December 2024