Clashes in Iran’s capital as police raid money changers
A protest and scuffles with police occurred in central Tehran on Wednesday in the first sign of public unrest over Iran's plunging currency, which this week has lost more than half of its value.
Hundreds of police in anti-riot gear stormed the capital's currency exchange district of Ferdowsi, arresting illegal money changers and ordering licensed bureaux and other shops closed, AFP reports, citing witnesses.
Several arrests were seen, carried out by uniformed police or plain-clothes security officers.
Smoke was seen in two places in the area.
Some appeared to come from a dumpster set on fire near the British embassy - evacuated last year after pro-government demonstrators stormed it.
The source of the other smoke could not be determined, with police directing pedestrians and vehicles away.
Individuals threw stones at police officers and a police car before running away, witnesses said.
A protest in Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar - a maze-like complex of shops vital to the city - also took place but was quickly put down by police.
A police commander, Colonel Khalil Helali, was quoted by the Mehr news agency as saying police were going to take action against shopkeepers who closed their businesses, for "disturbing" the situation.
On Tuesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Western sanctions were mostly to blame. But rivals said his mismanagement of the economy was the main cause.
One money changer said almost no transactions were taking place in the market, making any valuation unreliable, but the assumption was the rial had stabilised early Wednesday at around 34,000 to the dollar.
Online websites that normally track the currency market were censored, none giving the rial's value against the dollar.
On Tuesday, the rial closed at around 36,100 to the dollar.
A week ago, it was trading at around 22,000 to the greenback and at 13,000 a year ago.
The money's plunge has greatly increased inflation in Iran, which is widely seen as far higher than the official 23.5 percent given by the central bank.
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