Iran: Signs of New Protests Against Rise in Prices

A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Iran's Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS
A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Iran's Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS
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Iran: Signs of New Protests Against Rise in Prices

A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Iran's Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS
A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Iran's Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS

Signs of a new round of protests emerged in Tehran, after the rise in prices hit the foreign exchange market, pushing the dollar to a record high in two years.

Angry Iranians gathered on Sunday in front of the Central Bank headquarters, chanting slogans condemning the officials and demanding the resignation of the central bank governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati.

The latter was the center of recent speculations, as political circles in Tehran reported that he could run for the presidential elections scheduled for May 2021.

Iranian security forces cordoned off the streets leading to the bank, according to eyewitnesses’ reports on social networks.

Meanwhile, the government adopted security measures and arrested officials to reduce popular discontent.

Quoting the Iranian police chief, ILNA news agency reported that the authorities launched a new unit called the “economic security police” to counter economy breaches.

For its part, Fars Agency of the Revolutionary Guards quoted Colonel Nader Moradi, Deputy Commander of the Greater Tehran Police for Supervision of Commercial Venues, as saying that the police forces will “legally confront the officials of the home appliance unions who trade in goods with the aim of selling them at high prices that exceed the approved rates.”

The price of one dollar rose in recent days to 180,000 Iranian Rials, the highest record reached since August 2018, in parallel with the implementation of the US sanctions.



Turkish Prosecutors Investigate Main Opposition Leader in Crackdown

A person holds a placard during a rally to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
A person holds a placard during a rally to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
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Turkish Prosecutors Investigate Main Opposition Leader in Crackdown

A person holds a placard during a rally to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
A person holds a placard during a rally to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the leader of Türkiye's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on charges of threatening and insulting Istanbul's chief prosecutor, adding to a broad crackdown on the opposition.

The clampdown is centred on Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival and leads him in some opinion polls. The CHP's Imamoglu was jailed in March pending trial on corruption charges, which he denies, according to Reuters.

The Istanbul prosecutor's office said in a statement that it had launched the probe into CHP leader Ozgur Ozel over comments he made about the chief prosecutor at a rally in Istanbul on Wednesday, criticising the targeting of the opposition.

CHP spokesman Deniz Yucel criticised the decision to open the investigation.

"We will not succumb to this system of lawlessness that you have created," he said on X, addressing the authorities.

In another step, Türkiye's Interior Ministry dismissed three Istanbul district mayors who were arrested this week as part of the corruption investigations at the municipality, state media said on Thursday.

The ministry also removed from their posts two mayors who were arrested under the same investigations in the southern province of Adana, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. All five of these mayors are from the CHP.

Imamoglu's arrest in March triggered mass protests, economic turmoil and broad accusations of government influence over the judiciary and anti-democratic applications. The government denies the accusations and says the judiciary is independent.

Since his arrest, authorities have detained dozens of CHP members, officials from the Istanbul municipality, and other CHP-run municipalities. Access to Imamoglu's X account was also blocked in Türkiye this month.