Iran’s government has pledged to “patiently listen” to protesters’ concerns as demonstrations sparked by a plummeting currency and dire economic conditions have spread from Tehran to several other cities.

Students took to the streets of the capital on Tuesday, and protests also broke out at universities and institutions in cities including Isfahan, Yazd and Zanjan, Iran’s state-run Islamic News Agency reported.

Iran’s labor movement-related news agency Irna reported that 10 universities across the country held protests, seven of which were in the capital.

The demonstration marked the third consecutive day of protests in Iran as shopkeepers closed their shops and closed their shops near two major technology and mobile shopping malls in Tehran’s Jomhouri district and the Grand Bazaar neighborhood. take to the streets In response, the rial fell to a record low on Sunday, forcing import prices to rise and hurting retail traders.

Rial has been declining rapidly As the United States and its Western allies have stepped up sanctions and diplomatic pressure in recent weeks, the rial was trading at about 1.42 million rials against the dollar on Sunday when protests erupted, compared with 820,000 rials a year ago.

The country’s economy, battered by decades of Western sanctions, has been under further pressure since late September, when the United Nations reinstated international sanctions related to the country’s nuclear program that were lifted a decade ago.

Government promises to listen

In response to the growing protests, a government spokesman said the government would listen to the concerns of demonstrators.

“Even if there are harsh voices, the government will listen patiently because we believe our people are patient enough and when their voices are raised, the pressure on them will be great,” Fatem Mohajerani told a news conference in Tehran.

“The government’s job is to listen to voices and help them reach consensus and solve social problems.”

She said the government recognized the right to peaceful assembly.

“We see, hear and officially acknowledge all protests, difficulties and crises.”

President Masoud Pezeshkian met with labor leaders on Tuesday and presented proposals to deal with the economic crisis, the semi-official Myhr news agency reported.

Pezeshkian said he had instruct government officials Listening to the protesters’ “legitimate demands” and pledging to protect their livelihoods, he said this was his “daily concern”.

Public trust in government is low

Trita Passi, executive vice president of the Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Quincy, said the Iranian public has little confidence in the government’s ability to solve economic problems.

“The president himself came out about a week ago and said there was nothing he could do about these issues,” he told Al Jazeera.

“The lack of confidence in the government’s ability to address these issues is actually largely due to the statements made by the government itself.”

The big question now, he said, is whether the protests will intensify and turn into broader public anger over issues other than the nation’s economic problems.

“Protests can sometimes start based on economic grievances, which is the case here, but quickly evolve into other demands,” he said, adding that the situation in Iran was “very bad both politically and economically.”

Multiple challenges

Iran’s economic problems are very serious, the inflation rate is as high as about 50%, and the currency continues to depreciate.

But they are far from the only challenges facing the country, which also faces a growing energy crisis and a severe water crisis in which most dams supplying Tehran and many other large cities remain near empty.

The country also has one of the most restrictive internet environments in the world.

Iranian state media coverage of the protests emphasized that they were motivated by the uncontrolled devaluation of the rial rather than broader frustration with the theocratic establishment that has ruled the country since the 1979 revolution.

The last time Iran saw nationwide protests was in 2022 and 2023, thousands of people took to the streets across the country after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody after allegedly violating strict Islamic laws on headscarves.

Hundreds were killed and more than 20,000 arrested Several people were executed Related to protests.