Iran's government said on Tuesday it would seek dialogue with protest leaders after demonstrations in Tehran and other cities over a plunge in the currency's value, which has accelerated inflation, and after the central bank chief resigned.
Protests, which included shopkeepers in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, were held on Sunday and Monday according to Iranian state media, the latest demonstrations in the Islamic Republic, where bouts of unrest have repeatedly erupted in recent years.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post late on Monday that he had asked the interior minister to listen to "legitimate demands" of protesters. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said a dialogue mechanism would be established and would include talks with protest leaders.
"We officially recognize the protests ... We hear their voices, and we know that this originates from natural pressure arising from the pressure on people's livelihoods," she said on Tuesday in comments carried by state media.
The Iranian rial has been falling amid Western sanctions, sinking to a record low on Monday at around 1,390,000 to the US dollar, according to websites that monitor open-market rates.
"We have fundamental measures on the agenda to reform the monetary and banking system and maintain the purchasing power of the people," Pezeshkian posted on X.
Iranian media have reported that the government's recent economic liberalization policies have put pressure on the rial's open-market exchange rate, where ordinary Iranians buy foreign currency.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Brig.-Gen. Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, the security and law-enforcement deputy to the interior minister, blamed the fluctuations in foreign-exchange markets on “enemy inducements” on Monday.
“In my opinion, a large part of the currency problems and fluctuations is affected by the psychological atmosphere of the market,” he was quoted as saying. “The enemy is desperately seeking to take advantage of the created atmosphere. People should be aware of this issue and not be influenced by the enemy’s insinuations. The market should continue its work peacefully, and people should not worry.”
The IRGC attributed the dissent to “cognitive warfare, psychological operations, and narrative creation.”
“Despair, instilling fear, and encouraging surrender to the enemy in the current circumstances are clear examples of seditious behavior,” it said.
Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency said the protests were in part fueled by accounts associated with the “Zionist regime.”
In 2022, Iran was rocked by protests nationwide over price hikes, including for bread, a major staple.
Over the same period and into 2023, the country's clerical rulers faced the boldest unrest in years, touched off by the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of the morality police, who enforce strict dress codes.
Iranian security services suppressed previous rounds of protests with violent crackdowns and widespread arrests rather than dialogue.
Iran remains under intense international pressure, with US President Donald Trump saying on Monday that he might back another round of Israeli airstrikes if Tehran resumed work on ballistic missiles or any nuclear weapons program.
The US and Israel carried out 12 days of airstrikes on Iran's military and its nuclear installations in June aimed at stopping what they believe were efforts to develop the means to build an atomic weapon.
Iran says its nuclear energy program is entirely peaceful and that it has not tried to build a nuclear bomb.
Iran's Reza Pahlavi backs protests
Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi backed the protests erupting throughout Iran on Monday with a message to his followers on social media.
“I send my greetings to you, the bazaar merchants, and the people who have taken the streets into their own hands,” the prince stated in a video message.
“As long as this regime remains in power, the country’s economic situation will continue to deteriorate. Today is a time for greater solidarity. I call on all segments of society to join your fellow citizens in the streets and raise your voices demanding the downfall of this system, ” said Pahlavi.
Protests began on Sunday, when the bazaari (merchant class) closed their shops and took to the streets as Iran’s economic crisis deepened, with the US dollar reaching 1.4 million rials in market value (42,000 rials official value).
The country's economic situation has been declining for months, reaching a peak on Sunday. Monday saw protests spread as the bazaari held a strike in several districts in Tehran, before protestors took to the streets in other cities.
Further protests have been recorded in Ahvaz, Hamadan, Qeshm, and Mashhad, among others.
Alex Winston and Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.