"In his first public remarks since mass protests broke out in Iran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sought to draw a sharp line between what he deemed the legitimate grievances of the bazaar and outright rebellion across the country. We talk to protesters; the officials must talk to them, but there is no benefit to talking to rioters. Rioters must be put in their place, he said."
"Khamenei went on to praise the bazaar and its merchants as among the most loyal sectors of the Islamic Republic, insisting that the enemies of the state could not exploit the bazaar as a vehicle to confront the system itself. Yet his words failed to mask the reality on the ground. Protests continue in the Tehran Bazaar, prompting authorities to deploy tear gas against demonstrators chanting antistate slogans, including ones targeting the supreme leader."
"But this historical loyalty no longer guarantees political quiescence. Over the past 20 years, the economic standing of the bazaar has been steadily eroded by state favouritism towards the economic machinery of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and large religious-revolutionary foundations (bonyads), sanctions management, and chronic inflation. As a result, what was once a staunch base of the regime has become another casualty of systemic dysfunction."
Khamenei sought to separate legitimate bazaar grievances from outright rebellion while praising bazaar merchants as loyal to the Islamic Republic. Security forces deployed tear gas against demonstrators in the Tehran Bazaar, where protesters chanted antistate and anti‑Khamenei slogans. The bazaar's historical role in the 1979 revolution and ties to conservative networks no longer guarantee political quiescence. Over the past two decades, state favouritism toward the IRGC and large religious foundations, sanctions management, and chronic inflation have eroded the bazaar's economic standing. Declining economic influence has transformed the bazaar from a regime stronghold into another casualty of systemic dysfunction.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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