Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, whose shopkeepers helped bring Islamist clerics to power in 1979, once again became a hotspot for anti-regime rallies

Protesters angry over Iran’s ailing economy conducted a sit-in Tuesday at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, witnesses said, with security forces ultimately firing tear gas and dispersing demonstrators as the rest of the market shut down.

Iran’s Grand Bazaar closed amid sit-ins and clashes with security forces as nationwide protests intensified, the rial plunged to a historic low, and authorities reported dozens killed and mass arrests

The protest at the Grand Bazaar, the beating heart for centuries of both Iran's economic and political life, represented the latest signal that the demonstrations likely are to continue as the country's rial currency fell to a record low Tuesday.

"The conditions in Iran today are not comparable to those that precipitated the downfall of the Shah and the triumph of the revolution of 1979," writes

The Grand Bazaar, once a pillar of Islamist power, has re-emerged as a symbol of economic anger and political strain.

Demonstrations in Iran’s streets highlight deep structural discontent in the country, which is facing chronic inflation, widespread poverty, and high youth unemployment

Iran's bazaar merchants, the trader class who were the financial backbone of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, have turned against the clerics they helped bring

Four weeks after shopkeepers in Tehran’s grand bazaar shut their stores in protest over the tanking economy, much of Iran is under an internet blackout as protests, which swelled to mass demonstrations against Iran’s clerical rule, have quietened.

Protesters angry over Iran's ailing economy conducted a sit-in Tuesday at Tehran's Grand Bazaar, witnesses said, with security forces ultimately firing tear gas and dispersing demonstrators as the rest of the market shut down.

Iran arrests hundreds, disrupts internet as currency falls to new low and protests enter a second week.