In Iran, protests over soaring inflation and the collapse of Iran’s currency have spread from Tehran to multiple cities for a third day. It began as a strike by Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shopkeepers and now has grown into nationwide demonstrations, with police using tear gas in some areas.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said the government recognises the protests and ordered talks with demonstrators’ representatives. The central bank governor has also been replaced by former economy and finance minister Abdolnasser Hemmati. University students joined the unrest, chanting anti-government slogans, while some protesters voiced support for exiled royal figure Reza Pahlavi.
The US expressed support for the protesters, and Iran was reportedly high on the agenda of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida. Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei has repeatedly said that Israel’s government hoped mass protests would erupt in Iran during the war and topple the regime.
