Tehran , 31 December (H.S.): Iranian students erupted in protests across multiple universities on Tuesday, amplifying a burgeoning wave of dissent sparked by shopkeepers over the rial's catastrophic plunge to a record low of 1.42 million to the US dollar—nearly double its value from a year prior—and galloping inflation exceeding 42 percent.

Demonstrations engulfed at least 10 institutions, including seven of Tehran's premier campuses such as the University of Tehran, Sharif University, and Khajeh Nasir University, alongside the technology university in Isfahan and facilities in Yazd and Zanjan, where crowds chanted Death to the dictator, Freedom! Freedom! and We are all together.

No accidents or injuries were reported amid the unrest, though security forces deployed riot police at key Tehran intersections and university perimeters, firing tear gas in isolated clashes near Sharif University while some central bazaar shops reopened after Monday's shutdowns.

The upheaval traces to Sunday's shutdown at Tehran's Grand Bazaar, Iran's historic mobile phone market, where merchants shuttered amid import price surges paralysing sales—traders decried officials' indifference to dollar volatility crippling phone cases and accessories alike.

By Tuesday, the third consecutive day, protests radiated to Shiraz, Kermanshah, Mashhad, Ahvaz, Karaj, Hamedan, Qeshm, Tabriz, and southern Tehran districts like Shoosh Square and Javadieh, blending bazaar strikes with student marches that forced Basij militias to retreat under sustained slogans.

Food prices soared 72 percent year-on-year, medical goods 50 percent, exacerbating recession forecasts of 1.7 percent contraction in 2025 amid renewed UN nuclear sanctions, a recent 12-day war with Israel, and chronic mismanagement.

Government Response and Leadership Shifts

President Masoud Pezeshkian, wielding limited authority beneath Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, directed Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Monday to dialogue with protest representatives, pledging banking-monetary reforms and protection of purchasing power during Tuesday's labour union meeting.

Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf urged measures to bolster affordability while decrying foreign exploitation, as the government installed ex-finance minister Abdolnasser Hemmati as central bank governor amid the bazaar turmoil.

Spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani announced a protest-leaders dialogue mechanism, though authorities historically quash unrest through arrests and force, as in 2019 petrol riots and 2022 Mahsa Amini demonstrations.

Broader Economic Pressures and Precedents

December's 52-percent inflation masks steeper essentials hikes, with banks, schools, and businesses slated for temporary closures Wednesday to conserve energy amid biting cold, further straining households battered by Western sanctions and snapback nuclear penalties lifted a decade ago.

Unlike the nationwide 2022 fury over Amini's custody death—killing hundreds—or 2019 fuel-price bloodshed, these remain contained to economic grievances without political overthrow demands, though student chants echoed past defiance. Analysts attribute the crisis to fiscal deficits, import reliance, and policy failures, with traders postponing deals until stability emerges.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar