Overview
- Demonstrations that began with bazaar merchants in Tehran spread to major cities including Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad, with student rallies reported across several Tehran universities.
- Security forces used tear gas and batons near Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, according to videos and eyewitness accounts carried by independent outlets and state-linked media.
- President Masoud Pezeshkian directed the interior minister to hear protesters’ “legitimate demands,” as government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said a dialogue mechanism would engage protest leaders.
- Central Bank governor Mohammad Reza Farzin resigned and former economy minister Abdolnaser Hemmati was named to replace him, alongside promises of monetary and banking measures to stabilize purchasing power.
- The rial traded around 1.38–1.45 million per U.S. dollar on the open market as officials cited years of U.S. and U.N. sanctions and recent regional conflict, with official data showing annual inflation near 42% and food prices up about 72%.