Strikes Across Iran Lead to Shuttered Shops and Ghost Towns

Sealing a business can result in the revocation of its license and the confiscation of the property.

While the economic effect of the strikes was not immediately clear, analysts said the action sent a message that the level of discontent was deep and widespread.

“Whether or not strikes are occurring has become symbolic of whether the protest movement is reaching a new phase,” said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, chief executive of the Bourse and Bazaar Foundation, a London-based economic research institute focused on Iran. “For now, most of the economic pressure felt by the regime is arising from a drop in consumption. People are buying less owing to the uncertainty, and when strikes occur, shops are closed.”

Mr. Batmanghelidj said that in order to create real pressure, strikes needed to target production needs, interrupt industrial facilities and include widespread walkouts by blue-collar workers. But those workers and government employees risk losing their jobs.

The call to action, organized ad hoc by activists and spread via social media, included protests and acts of civil disobedience. It also commemorated what is known as university student day, Dec. 7. At campuses in several cities, students staged sit-ins and political art performances to mark the occasion, videos showed.

But many Iranians in cities big and small took to the streets chanting, “Death to the dictator,” and “For each person you kill, a thousand will rise,” videos showed.

Afshin Hojat, a resident of Rasht, said on Twitter that 90 percent of all businesses in his city were closed. When the heat broke down in his home and he called the plumber, he was told the plumber was not working for three days to support the uprising.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/06/world/middleeast/iran-protest-strikes.html