Masoud Pezeshkian has promised to take action to protect purchasing power of Iranians as currency plummets to record lows.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called on his government to listen to protesters’ “legitimate demands” and pledged to protect their livelihoods following two days of demonstrations in Tehran against the plummeting national currency and dire economic conditions.
In comments on social media that were also reported by the government’s IRNA news agency on Tuesday, Pezeshkian acknowledged the concerns of the protesters, who have closed their shops and chanted in the streets in demonstrations in the capital since Sunday.
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“The livelihood of the people is my daily concern,” Pezeshkian posted on X.
“I have tasked the Minister of the Interior to hear the legitimate demands of the protesters through dialogue with their representatives, so that the government can act with all its might to resolve problems and respond responsibly.”
The government had “fundamental actions on the agenda to reform the monetary and banking system and preserve the purchasing power of the people”, he added.
Shopkeepers take to the streets
The protests in Tehran have broken out as the Iranian rial has plunged to new record lows against the US dollar.
The rial has been rapidly declining over recent weeks as the United States and its Western allies pile on their sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and the threat of another war with Israel lingers.
Shopkeepers near two main tech and mobile phone shopping centres in Tehran’s Jomhouri area, as well as in and around the Grand Bazaar, closed their businesses and took to the streets on Sunday, with further protests on Monday afternoon.
Footage on social media showed demonstrators chanting: “Don’t be afraid, we are together.”
Multiple videos showed antiriot forces in full gear deploying tear gas to disperse the protesters.
Multiple challenges
Iranian state media have reported on the protests, but have emphasised that they are motivated by the unchecked depreciation of the rial, rather than wider disenchantment with the theocratic establishment that has been ruling the country since the 1979 revolution.
The depreciating currency is not the only challenge facing the country. Inflation stands at about 50 percent, consistently one of the highest in the world for several years, while under a controversial budget bill, taxes are slated to increase by 62 percent.
Iran has been facing an exacerbating energy crisis, while most dams feeding Tehran and many other big cities remain at near-empty levels amid a severe water crisis.
Meanwhile, Iran also has one of the most restricted internet environments in the world.
The continuing decline of purchasing power for 90 million Iranians comes amid increasing pressure from the US, Israel and their European allies over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Israel and the US attacked Iran in June during a 12-day war that killed more than 1,000 people, including civilians, dozens of top-ranking military and intelligence commanders, and nuclear scientists.
Iran last saw nationwide protests in 2022 and 2023, with thousands pouring into the streets across the country after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for alleged noncompliance with strict Islamic laws regarding headscarves.
Hundreds of people were killed, more than 20,000 were arrested, and several others were executed in connection with the protests.
