Protests erupt in Iran over currency's plunge to record low

Iran is seeing its biggest protests in three years after the currency plunged to a record low against the dollar. The Central Bank governor resigned on Monday.

Sanitized article summary: Large protests erupted across Iran (Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad) after the rial plunged to record lows against the U.S. dollar. State media reported the resignation of Central Bank governor Mohammad Reza Farzin. Traders and shopkeepers shut shops and rallied in Tehran’s Saadi Street and near the Grand Bazaar; police used tear gas in some locations. The rial fell as low as 1.42 million to the dollar (trading 1.38 million on Monday). Rapid depreciation is intensifying inflationary pressure (official inflation 42.2% year-on-year; food prices up 72%; health items up 50%), and officials recently changed gasoline pricing and reportedly plan tax increases, stoking fears of worsening household budgets and possible hyperinflation. The article notes historic context (rial at ~32,000 per dollar in 2015), the 2018 U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, UN "snapback" sanctions reimposed in September, and market anxiety tied to recent Iran–Israel hostilities. AP and official Iranian outlets (IRNA, ILNA) are cited.