Protests and strikes over inflation and currency depreciation have spread from the capital, Tehran, to several other cities in Iran on the third day of unrest, BBC reported, as cited by Rks News.
The protests began on Sunday after shopkeepers at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar went on strike when the Iranian rial fell to a record low against the US dollar on the open market.
Since then, BBC Persian–verified videos have shown demonstrations in the cities of Karaj, Hamedan, Qeshm, Malard, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Shiraz, and Yazd. Police were also seen using tear gas in an effort to disperse protesters.
The Iranian government said it “acknowledges the protests” and would listen “with patience, even when faced with harsh voices.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X late on Monday that he had instructed the interior minister to hold talks with what he described as “representatives” of the protesters, in order to take steps “to resolve problems and act responsibly.”
He also accepted the resignation of Iran’s central bank governor, Mohammadreza Farzin, and appointed former economy and finance minister Abdolnasser Hemmati as his replacement.
University students have also joined the protests, chanting anti-government slogans, including “Death to the dictator”—a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power in Iran.
Some protesters were also heard chanting slogans in support of the son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, including “Long live the Shah.”
