Iconic Tehran Bazaar Empties As Iran Protesters Call For 'Strikes'
This was the scene inside Tehran's Grand Bazaar on November 15 as the usually crammed indoor marketplace stood largely empty and with its stores closed.
A file photo taken on September 28, showing the iconic Grand Bazaar as it usually looks during business hours.
Shops in central Tehran closed on November 15.
According to AP, the closed businesses were part of a nationwide "strike" to mark the deadly 2019 crackdown on anti-government protests across Iran, in which at least several hundred people were killed by the country's security forces.
The Grand Bazaar on November 15.
The anniversary of the 2019 violence has been folded into current anti-government protests that have roiled Iran since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in September after her arrest for allegedly not wearing her head scarf according to regulation.
It is unclear whether owners of the closed shops in the bazaar are taking part in an organized strike or if some simply closed to avoid the violence that some fear could be unleashed by the authorities on potential protest gatherings.
Shuttered shops in central Tehran on November 15.
Previous anti-government protests in Iran have included business owners shutting their stores en masse. Such action in 2018 drew a furious response from the government, with one official threatening to execute shop owners who closed during working hours.
Protesters chant slogans as they walk through a shopping mall in the central city of Isfahan on November 15.
As well as Tehran and Isfahan, stores were reportedly closed in Iran's western Kurdish region on November 15.
Iranian police in riot gear are seen on a street next to the closed shops of Tehran's Grand Bazaar on November 15.
At least 330 people have died in the current unrest across Iran, including two protesters who were shot dead on November 15. That night, videos from Tehran showed protesters blocking a traffic circle while honking car horns and chanting, "Freedom!"