IRAN PROTESTS ARE NOT ABOUT POLITICS ANYMORE, THEY ARE ABOUT AN ECONOMY THAT DOESN’T WORK |
The shopkeepers who closed their stores in central Tehran this week were not making a political statement in the traditional sense.
They were reacting to a simple reality: an economy that no longer works.
The collapse of the rial, combined with persistent inflation, has made everyday business increasingly unviable.
Prices cannot be set, goods cannot be replaced, and routine transactions now carry the risk of loss. When this happens, protest is no longer driven by ideology. It becomes a matter of survival.
This dynamic became visible again on December 28.
As the currency continued to decline and a recession worsened, groups of bazaar merchants stopped activity in several key market areas, including around Jomhouri and Hafez streets, as well as in major commercial centres like Charsou and Alaeddin.
Similar shutdowns were seen in Shoush, where traders in the mobile phone and iron markets completely withdrew from business, arguing that the level of stagnation made ongoing operations economically pointless.
By Monday, gatherings had grown along Jomhouri Street, extending as far as Istanbul Square, signalling not just a single flashpoint but a broader spatial footprint of economic protest.
The immediate trigger was clear. Iran’s currency dropped to new historic lows, with the rial dropping to around 1,445,000 per dollar, compared to roughly 1,370,000 the previous day and about 1,140,000 only a month earlier.
For traders, this volatility does more than erode profit margins. It eliminates the fundamental predictability that markets rely on.
During these gatherings, protesters were heard chanting, “Don’t be afraid, we are all together,” a slogan familiar from earlier protest periods.
Its appearance did not transform the protests into an ideological movement, but it did signal a shift from quiet economic withdrawal to visible collective action as frustration moved from........