Iranian traders protest as currency hits record low

Iranian traders and shopkeepers staged a second day of protests on Monday after the country’s currency plummeted to a new record low against the US dollar.  Videos on social media showed hundreds taking part in rallies in Saadi Street in downtown Tehran as well as in the Shush neighbourhood near Tehran’s main Grand Bazaar, which played a crucial role in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the monarchy and brought Islamists to power.  Witnesses told The Associated Press that traders shut their shops and asked others to do the same. The semiofficial ILNA news agency said many businesses and merchants stopped trading even though some kept their shops open. There were no reports of police raids, though security was tight at the protests, according to witnesses.