Tehran protests: why are Iranians angry?

Thousands demonstrate in capital after
seeing their savings dwindle

One-Minute Read Hinnah Mian

Donald Trump’s announcement last month that the US was withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear
deal has triggered a sharp decline in the value of
the Iranian rial, which in turn has seen import costs
skyrocket.

There were about 65,000 rials to $1 on Iran’s unofficial
currency exchange market prior to Trump’s decision, compared with
90,000 rials as of Monday.

“People in the Middle Eastern nation have watched their savings
dwindle,” says Sky News. 

There are also fears that the threatened return to US sanctions
will cut Iran’s earnings from oil experts, further damaging the
already declining economy. 

“We are all angry with the economic situation. We cannot
continue our businesses like this,” a merchant in Tehran’s Grand
Bazaar told Reuters.

President Hassan Rouhani insists his government will be able to
withstand the rapid currency drop and any new US sanctions. The
Iranian leader spoke out after the Central Bank of Iran announced
that it will create a secondary market for foreign exchange
to help get around a dollar shortage. 

Yesterday Rouhani declared: “We are fighting against the United
States, it wants to make an economic war. The US cannot defeat our
nation; our enemies are not able to force us to their knees.”

But such reassurances have done little to calm many
Iranians’ fears.