popular Iranian protests<\/a> began in July with truck drivers going on strike. The strike quickly expanded to 142 cities in 31 provinces of the country giving new momentum to the already rising dissent among Iranians.<\/p>\nAdditionally, the dismissal of the head of Iran\u2019s central bank, Valiollah Saif and the sharp plunge in the value of country\u2019s currency rial, set the ground for a new wave of protests.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, July 29, when the new head of the Central Bank, Hemmati, took his post, the value of dollar crossed the 100,000 rial line moving up quickly toward 110,000.<\/p>\n
On the same day, some markets in Tehran and Isfahan and several other cities like Rasht and Qeshm went on strike. The strike repidly expanded to other cities in the coming days.<\/p>\n
To stop the unrest at the roots, the regime arrested a number of shopkeepers and dealers in the money market.<\/p>\n