A powerful video, verified by AFP and posted on the afternoon of 29/12, has gone viral on social media, showing an Iranian protester sitting cross-legged in the middle of Jomhouri Avenue in Tehran. The individual steadfastly refused to move, even as more than 20 helmeted police officers on motorcycles approached. Behind the lone protester, a crowd could be seen attempting to escape tear gas. This location, near the city’s largest mobile phone shopping center, is a key flashpoint for the ongoing demonstrations.
Security forces and riot police were deployed on 30/12 at major intersections in Tehran and around universities, as the wave of protests entered its third day with significant student participation. Iranian media reported that demonstrations erupted at 10 universities nationwide, including seven in Tehran, along with institutions in Isfahan, Yazd, and Zanjan.
The protests, which began on 28/12, include small traders and are a response to severe economic hardship and a volatile national currency. The Iranian rial has significantly depreciated against the USD and other international currencies, causing import prices to soar. When the protests began, the free market exchange rate reached 1,42 million rial to one USD, a sharp increase from 820,000 rial a year prior.
On 30/12, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met with labor representatives and proposed solutions to the economic crisis, according to Mehr news agency. Pezeshkian stated on social media, "I have instructed the interior minister to listen to the legitimate demands of the protesters through dialogue with their representatives, so that the government can do everything in its capacity to resolve the issues and act responsibly."
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Protesters move across a bridge in Tehran, Iran on 29/12. Photo: AFP |
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also urged necessary measures to improve purchasing power, while cautioning against foreign agents and anti-government elements exploiting the protest movement. On 29/12, the Iranian government announced the appointment of former finance and economic minister Abdolnasser Hemmati as the new central bank governor.
Pham Giang, AFP
