Iran president tells government listen to protesters 'legitimate demands'

TEHRAN: Iran’s president urged his government to listen to the “legitimate demands” of protesters, state media reported Tuesday, after several days of demonstrations by shopkeepers in Tehran over economic hardships.

Shopkeepers in the capital had shut their stores for the second day in a row on Monday, after Iran’s embattled currency hit new lows on the unofficial market.

The US dollar was trading at around 1.42 million rials on Sunday — compared to 820,000 rials a year ago — and the euro nearing 1.7 million rials, according to price monitoring websites.

“I have asked the Interior Minister to listen to the legitimate demands of the protesters by engaging in dialogue with their representatives so that the government can do everything in its power to resolve the problems and act responsibly,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Protesters “are demanding immediate government intervention to rein in exchange-rate fluctuations and set out a clear economic strategy”, the pro-labour news agency ILNA reported Monday.

Price fluctuations are paralysing the sales of some imported goods, with both sellers and buyers preferring to postpone transactions until the outlook becomes clearer, AFP correspondents noted.

“Continuing to do business under these conditions has become impossible,” ILNA quoted protesters as saying.

The conservative-aligned Fars news agency released images showing a crowd of demonstrators occupying a major thoroughfare in central Tehran, known for its many shops.

Another photograph appeared to show tear gas being used to disperse protesters.

“Minor physical clashes were reported… between some protesters and the security forces,” Fars said, warning that such gatherings could lead to instability.

Battered economy

Iranian Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei called for “the swift punishment of those responsible for currency fluctuations”, the justice ministry’s Mizan agency reported Monday.

The government has also announced the replacement of the central bank governor.

“By decision of the president, Abdolnasser Hemmati will be appointed governor of the Central Bank,” presidency communications official Mehdi Tabatabaei posted on X.

Hemmati is a former economy and finance minister who was dismissed by parliament in March because of the sharp depreciation of the rial.

Pezeshkian delivered on Sunday the budget for the next Persian year to parliament, vowing to fight inflation and the high cost of living.

In December, inflation stood at 52 percent year-on-year, according to official statistics. But this figure still falls far short of many price increases, especially for basic necessities.

The country’s economy, already battered by decades of Western sanctions, was further strained after the United Nations in late September reinstated international sanctions linked to the country’s nuclear programme that were lifted 10 years ago.