Iran security forces use tear gas on protesters at Tehran bazaar: rights groups

PARIS: Iranian security forces fired tear gas on Tuesday to disperse protesters at the Tehran bazaar who were chanting slogans against the clerical authorities, according to rights groups and images posted on social media.

The Islamic republic is facing its most serious wave of protests since the 2022-2023 nationwide rallies sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.

The current protests were triggered by anger over the rising cost of living, and began on December 28 with a shutdown by merchants in the Tehran bazaar, a national economic hub. They have since spread to other areas, especially the west, which is home to Kurdish and Lor minority groups.

Iran’s Fars news agency said “sporadic gatherings” took place around the bazaar, with police dispersing the protest and demonstrators scattering into the alleyways nearby.

Read more: Iran says no leniency for ‘rioters’ as protests persist

Fars said parts of the bazaar, including the gold market, had been closed from noon in a “protest against rising foreign exchange rates and price instability”.

In social media footage verified by AFP, protesters at the scene could also be heard shouting slogans including “Pahlavi will return” and “Seyyed Ali will be overthrown” – references to the monarchy ousted by the 1979 Islamic revolution and to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Dozens of people are seen shouting “freedom” and “shameless” in footage posted by the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) and US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRNA).

Security forces then fire tear gas at the protesters, who rush to disperse as acrid smoke rises from the ground.

The demonstrations, now in their 10th day, have yet to reach the scale of the 2022-2023 movement, let alone that of the mass 2009 street protests that followed disputed elections.

But against the background of an economic crisis and on the heels of the 12-day war against Israel in June, they present a new challenge for the leadership under 86-year-old Khamenei, in power since 1989.

The government of President Masoud Pezeshkian has announced modest monthly payments for people to alleviate the economic pain, but the head of the judiciary warned Monday that there would be “no leniency” for “rioters”.

At least 12 people have been killed since the protests began, including members of the security forces, according to official announcements in Iranian media. But NGOs outside Iran warn that the toll could be much higher.