Overview
- Merchants in central Tehran shut shops for a second day as demonstrations flared, with tear gas and minor clashes reported by local agencies.
- The rial sank to an informal record near 1.4 million per US dollar and 1.7 million per euro, driving extreme price volatility and stalling imports trade.
- President Massoud Pezeshkian called for officials to hear “legitimate” grievances and moved to name Abdolnasser Hemmati as central bank governor.
- Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei ordered swift punishment of alleged currency manipulators, while riot police patrolled central areas and many shops reopened.
- Verified reports showed students and protesters in cities including Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Hamedan and Qeshm Island, as annual inflation is officially about 52% after UN sanctions snapped back in September.