The leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, has urged authorities to take action against what he described as “disturbances” and the attempts to exploit the protests of merchants to attack the Islamic Republic. Khamenei stated that it is unacceptable for certain individuals to seek to destroy and create insecurity, taking advantage of merchants and using their protests to generate unrest. He called for the “control” of the unrest, identifying them as agents of adversarial nations, referring to Israel and the United States. However, he requested that authorities distinguish between the rioters and the merchants who have expressed their discontent regarding the economic situation in the country. The demonstrations began with merchants from the Grand Bazaar in Tehran and expanded to other cities, encompassing various sectors of society. In the early days of the protests, at least eight people have died in clashes with security forces, according to the opposition NGO Hrana. In certain videos shared by Hrana and other activists on social media, gunfire from the riot police can be heard directed at the protesters. Iran is in the midst of an economic crisis, characterised by an annual inflation rate of 42%, while the year-on-year inflation in December exceeded 52%. The rial has been losing value due to the sanctions imposed by the United States and the UN over Iran’s nuclear programme.
