[custom_adv] Most shop owners closed their stores Monday in Capital’s main bazaar as thousands of people gathered in the streets. Video posted to social media showed protesters heckling those shopkeepers who refused to close their stores, shouting “cowards.” [custom_adv] Demonstrators later gathered in front of parliament, about 2 kilometers from the Grand Bazaar, leading to a confrontation with police in which authorities fired tear gas at the protesters. [custom_adv] Similar economic protests roiled this past December and January, spreading to around 75 cities and towns. However, those protests largely were focused provinces as opposed to Capital itself. [custom_adv] Economic instability over the last few years was recently aggravated by fluctuations in foreign currencies that have all but paralyzed market to a point where several veteran merchants in the ancient place of commerce have had to close up shop. [custom_adv] The Grand Bazaar is considered by many observers as one of the key vitals for the broader financial situation in Iran and its closure could foretell the eventual collapse of the country's economy. [custom_adv] The bazaar played a major symbolic role in the revolution because it was a hub for the opposition, whose power base was the traditional lower-middle class. [custom_adv] Similar economic protests roiled this past December and January, spreading to around 75 cities and towns. However, those protests largely were focused provinces as opposed to Capital itself.
