Protests and strikes in Iran over inflation and currency devaluation have spread from the capital, Tehran, to several other cities on a third day of unrest.
The protests began on Sunday after shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar staged a strike when the Iranian rial hit a record low against the US dollar on the open market.
Since then, videos verified by BBC Persian have shown demonstrations in the cities of Karaj, Hamedan, Qeshm, Malard, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Shiraz and Yazd. Police were also seen using tear gas in an attempt to disperse demonstrators.
The Iranian government said it “recognises the protests” and would listen “with patience, even if it is confronted with harsh voices”.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X late on Monday that he had instructed the interior minister to hold talks with what he described as “representatives” of the protesters so that measures could be taken “to resolve the problems and act responsibly”.
He also accepted the resignation of Iran’s central bank governor, Mohammadreza Farzin, and named former economy and finance minister Abdolnasser Hemmati to replace him.
University students have also joined the protests, chanting anti-government slogans including “Death to the dictator” – a reference to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate power in Iran.
Some protesters were also heard chanting slogans in support of the son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, including “Long live the Shah”.
In response, Reza Pahlavi, who lives in exile in the United States, wrote on X: “I am with you. Victory is ours because our cause is just and because we are united.”
“As long as this regime remains in power, the country’s economic situation will continue to deteriorate,” he added.
The US state department’s Persian-language account on X also expressed support for the protests.
It said the US “praises their courage” and stands with those seeking “dignity and a better future” after years of failed policies and economic mismanagement.
Iran was reportedly high on the agenda of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Monday,
At a joint news conference afterwards, Trump declined to say whether he supported regime change in Iran, but said: “They’ve got a lot of problems: tremendous inflation, their economy is bust, their economy is no good, and I know people aren’t so happy.”
The president also said he might back another round of Israeli air strikes on Iran if the country rebuilt its ballistic missile or nuclear programmes.
“If they will continue with missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast, ok? One will be yes absolutely. The other is, we will do it immediately.”
During a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June, the US carried out air strikes on key Iranian uranium enrichment sites. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.
President Pezeshkian vowed on Tuesday that Iran’s response to “any oppressive act of aggression” would be “severe and regret-inducing”.
Iran’s supreme leader has repeatedly said that Israel’s government hoped mass protests would erupt in Iran during the war and topple the regime.
“They wanted to create sedition on the streets… But people were absolutely not influenced by what the enemy wanted,” Khamenei said in September.
