Security forces clashed with protesters at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on Tuesday as demonstrations over Iran’s worsening economic crisis intensified. Activists say at least 35 people have been killed nationwide since unrest began late last month.
Witnesses said demonstrators staged a sit-in inside the historic market complex—long a centre of Iran’s economic and political life—before security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Shops across the bazaar shut as tensions rose.
Clashes erupt at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar
Online videos and eyewitness accounts showed protesters seated on the ground in narrow passageways of the bazaar as security personnel advanced. Similar sit-in tactics have been reported in other cities as demonstrations spread.
Authorities later dispersed the crowd with tear gas. Iran has experienced repeated waves of unrest in recent years, but the latest protests are being driven by a rapid collapse of the national currency and anger over economic mismanagement.
Protests over Iran’s deepening economic crisis turned deadly as clashes erupted at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. Activists report at least 35 deaths nationwide as the currency hits record lows.#Iran #GrandBazaar pic.twitter.com/armKps52Lh
— LoudFact News 📰 (@loudfactcom) January 6, 2026
Currency collapse deepens economic pain
Iran’s currency hit a new low on Tuesday, trading at about 1.46 million rials to the US dollar. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the rial traded at roughly 70 to the dollar; even at the time of the 2015 nuclear deal, one dollar was worth about 32,000 rials.
The slide accelerated after Iran’s Central Bank sharply reduced a subsidised exchange rate used by importers of essential goods such as food and medicine. Officials said the preferential rate had been exploited by firms to profit from the gap between official and market prices.
State-run IRNA reported that cooking-oil prices have doubled, while shoppers complained of empty shelves. Prices of cheese and chicken have risen, and imported rice has disappeared from some stores.
President warns crisis may worsen
Reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged the scale of the challenge in a televised address on Tuesday.
“We should not expect the government to handle all of this alone,” Pezeshkian said. “The government simply does not have that capacity.”
Citing inflation, sanctions, and structural problems, he warned that tougher times could lie ahead: “If we do not make realistic decisions, we ourselves will push the country toward crisis and then complain about the consequences.”
Deaths and detentions mount nationwide
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said at least 35 people have been killed so far, including 29 protesters, four children, and two members of the security forces. It reported demonstrations in more than 250 locations across 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces.
Activists abroad say more than 1,200 people have been detained. Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that about 250 police officers and 45 members of the Basij volunteer force have been injured.
Ilam killings spark investigation
Late Monday, Pezeshkian ordered the interior ministry to investigate an incident in Ilam province, where videos appeared to show security forces firing on civilians in Malekshahi County. The presidency also acknowledged a separate incident involving a raid on a hospital in the city of Ilam, where activists said wounded protesters were being treated.
The U.S. State Department condemned the hospital raid, calling it a crime and stating that hospitals are not battlefields.
US President Donald Trump warned last week that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded by saying “rioters must be put in their place,” prompting threats from Iranian officials against US forces in the region.
