Video Related To: Iranians abandon meat for bread as riyal drop fires protests

Anti Regime PROTESTS in TEHRAN Triggered By IRAN CURRENCY CRASH TEHRAN, IRAN—Clashes erupted in the centre of the Iranian capital on Wednesday between money changers and security forces after riot police on motorcycles used batons and tear gas to shut down a long-tolerated black-market for foreign currency, witnesses reported. It was the first instance of a violent intervention over the money-changing business in Tehran since the national currency, the rial, which has been gradually losing value in recent years, dropped drastically over the past week. The rial hit a record low, losing 40 per cent of its worth against the dollar. Economists have called the plunge a stark reflection of the economic pain in Iran caused in part by the western sanctions over Iran's disputed nuclear program. Witnesses in and around Manoucheri St., where the black-market money changers do business, described cat-and-mouse chases between motorized riot police and money changers. It was unclear whether there were injuries or arrests. It also was unclear whether the clashes had been confined to the immediate area or had spread. The violence came a day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a nationally televised news conference, asked Iranian citizens not to sell their rials for other currencies, suggesting the problem had been caused in part by speculators. Ahmadinejad also warned that a "band of 22 people" with the power to manipulate exchange rates could face arrest, and he accused the United <b>...</b>