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Deep Dive: The new wave of Iranian protests is driven by a currency collapse (1.47m Rial/USD) and 49% inflation, uniting merchants and the poor in a desperate fight for economic survival.

The protests rocking Iran are not just about hijabs or political freedom; they are about the price of survival. While the 2022 uprising was sparked by social repression, the 2026 explosion is driven by an economic catastrophe that has left millions of Iranians unable to afford bread.
Data from Tehran’s parallel markets paints a grim picture. The Iranian Rial has collapsed to a historic low of 1.47 million to the US dollar, effectively wiping out the savings of the middle class. Inflation is officially running at 49%, but independent economists estimate the real rate for food items is over 80%.
Crucially, this wave of unrest began in the Tehran Grand Bazaar—the traditional heart of Iran’s conservative merchant class. When shopkeepers closed their shutters last week, it signaled that the regime had lost its most vital constituency. "We cannot trade when the currency changes value every hour," said a carpet merchant. "This is not business; it is gambling."
Unlike 2009 (political) or 2019 (fuel prices), the 2026 protests have united the urban elite, the merchant class, and the rural poor. It is a "coalition of the desperate." With the death toll nearing 200 and the internet blacked out, the regime is betting on brute force. But as history shows, you can shoot protesters, but you cannot shoot inflation.
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