Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei admitted for the first time on Saturday that the Iranian protesters, led by the bazaari middle class, “have a point” and that the economic situation in Iran “lacks stability.” Khamenei addressed the protests through his official Farsi-speaking account, calling the Bazaaris “among the most loyal Iranians in the country.
“First, the bazaar community and the bazaari, the bazaar merchants, are among the most loyal strata in the country to the Islamic system and the Islamic Revolution. We know the bazaar well, and in the name of the bazaar and the bazaari, one cannot confront the Islamic Republic and the Islamic system.
“Yes, these gatherings were mostly by bazaaris, but what they said was correct. When a bazaari looks at the country’s monetary situation, the decline in the value of the national currency, and the instability of the currency and foreign exchange, which makes the business environment unstable, he says, ‘I cannot do business,’ and he is right. The country’s officials accept this, and I know that the honorable president and other senior officials are seeking to remedy this problem.” Khamenei closed his statements by blaming rioters for pushing the protests out of proportion and shifting the focus from legitimate economic concerns to generic anti-regime rhetoric. (Read More)
