Leader hails bazaaris as most loyal to Islamic Republic, says foes behind currency devaluation
Tehran - BORNA - The Leader made the remarks on Saturday, during a meeting with families of martyrs, including the family of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the US military in Baghdad, Iraq, on January 3, 2020.
Referring to the recent unrest across the country, which began at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar last week, Ayatollah Khamenei said the bazaari class is “among the most loyal segments of the country to the Islamic Revolution,” stressing that “one cannot clash with the Islamic system in the name of the bazaar and merchants.”
He said merchants’ concerns were justified, noting that when a merchant looks at the country’s monetary conditions, the decline in the value of the national currency and its instability, “he says ‘I cannot do business,’ and this is true.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the president and senior officials are seeking remedies, adding that the unchecked rise in foreign currency is unnatural and involves “the hand of the enemy,” which he said must be stopped.
The Leader warned against the exploitation of legitimate economic grievances by hostile elements, saying what matters is that “a number of provoked individuals who are mercenaries of the enemy stand behind the bazaaris and chant anti-Islamic, anti-Iranian, and anti-Islamic Republic slogans.”