Anti-government protests in Iran challenging the regime have spread to more than 100 cities. The fact that they began with the bazaaris – a powerful force for change in Iran’s history and one seen as loyal to the regime – is notable.
How it began: When the central bank decided to end a program allowing some importers to access cheaper US dollars compared to the rest of the market, shopkeepers increased prices and some shuttered their doors, initiating the demonstrations. The move by the bazaaris, as they are known, was a drastic measure for a group traditionally supportive of the Islamic Republic.
The enduring alliance between the bazaaris and the clergy in Iran had the shopkeepers play a crucial role as kingmaker across Iran’s history. It was their support to those very clergymen that eventually helped the Islamic Revolution of 1979 succeed, giving the rebels a financial backbone that led to the fall of the shah, or monarch.
Their role as a major political force has since become more symbolic, but the impact of fluctuations in currency on their business is what led them to spark the protests that have since turned deadly.
