Security forces clash with protesters in Iran’s main market as toll rises to 36

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Protesters angry over Iran’s ailing economy conducted a sit-in Tuesday at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, witnesses said, with security forces ultimately firing tear gas and dispersing demonstrators as the rest of the market shut down.

The protest at the Grand Bazaar, the beating heart for centuries of both Iran’s economic and political life, represented the latest signal that the demonstrations likely are to continue as the rial currency fell to a record low Tuesday. Already, violence surrounding the protests has killed at least 36 people with authorities detaining more than 2,000 others, activists abroad say.

Meanwhile, the situation was likely to worsen as Iran’s Central Bank drastically reduced the subsidized exchange rates for dollars it offers to importers and producers. That likely will see merchants pass price hikes directly to consumers, whose life savings already have dwindled over years of sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, while ordering a government investigation into one incident involving the protests, otherwise signaled Tuesday that the crisis may be rapidly moving beyond the control of officials.