Sawt Falasteen - Iran president urges government to heed economic protests

Shopkeepers in the capital shut their stores on Monday, after Iran's embattled currency hit new lows on the unofficial market.

Photos from the Fars news agency had shown tear gas being used to disperse protesters but by Tuesday most shops and cafes in the city centre were open and antiriot police were keeping watch on the main squares, AFP reporters saw.

The US dollar was trading at around 1.42 million rials when the shutdown began on Sunday -- compared to 820,000 rials a year ago -- and the rial strengthened only slightly by Tuesday.

According to the Etemad newspaper, one trader who did not give his name, complained that officials had offered no support to storekeepers battling soaring import costs.

"They didn't even follow up on how the dollar price affected our lives," he complained.

"We had to decide to show our protest. With this dollar price, we can't even sell a phone case, and the officials don't care at all that our lives are run by selling mobile phones and accessories."

It was into this atmosphere, President Masoud Pezeshkian -- who has less authority under Iran's system of government than Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -- made his statement.

"I have asked the interior minister to listen to the legitimate demands of the protesters by engaging in dialogue with their representatives so that the government can do everything in its power to resolve the problems and act responsibly," he said, in a social media post.

According to state television, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also called for "necessary measures focused on increasing people's purchasing power".

"People's concerns and protests regarding livelihood problems must be responded to with full responsibility, and dialogue," he said.

Price fluctuations are paralysing the sales of some imported goods, with both sellers and buyers preferring to postpone transactions until the outlook becomes clearer, AFP correspondents reported.

- Battered economy -

Iranian Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei called for "the swift punishment of those responsible for currency fluctuations", the justice ministry's Mizan agency reported Monday.

The government has also announced the replacement of the central bank governor.

"By decision of the president, Abdolnasser Hemmati will be appointed governor of the Central Bank," presidency communications official Mehdi Tabatabaei posted on X.

Hemmati is a former economy and finance minister who was dismissed by parliament in March because of the sharp depreciation of the rial.

In December, inflation stood at 52 percent year-on-year, according to official statistics. But this figure still falls far short of many price increases, especially for basic necessities.

The country's economy, already battered by decades of Western sanctions, was further strained after the United Nations in late September reinstated international sanctions linked to the country's nuclear programme that were lifted 10 years ago.

Western powers and Israel accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

R.Halabi--SF-PST