Videos: Iran protesters confront police at parliament
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Protesters angered by Iran’s cratering economy confronted police in front of parliament on Monday, with security forces firing tear gas at them, according to online videos, the first such confrontation after similar demonstrations rocked the country at the start of the year.
The unplanned demonstration came a day after protests forced two major shopping centres for mobile phones and electronics to close in Tehran and after demonstrators earlier closed its Grand Bazaar.
It signalled widespread unease in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers and restore sanctions on the country.
It wasn’t immediately clear who led the protests. Iran’s semi-official news agencies, Fars, ISNA and Tasnim, described the protests at the Grand Bazaar as erupting after the Iranian rial dropped to 90,000 to the dollar on the country’s black market, despite government attempts to control the currency rate.