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In order to suppress dissent, the Iranian regime has taken drastic measures by closing gold shops in Mashhad, a major city in northeastern Iran. Reports indicate that the closure follows a strike by gold sellers protesting the government’s tax policies.
According to state media, the Mashhad gold market has been effectively closed due to the ongoing strike, and some shops are at risk of being officially closed by authorities in Khorasan Razavi province.
Youssef Taqizadegan, director of the Mashhad Gold and Jewelry Union, revealed that tensions worsened after gold sellers were ordered to register their gold stocks in the system national commercial. This directive gave rise to widespread protests, prompting many gold sellers to close their shops in a show of solidarity.
The strike, which shows no signs of abating, has been fueled not only by fiscal concerns but also by objections to the national trading system. Nader Bazrafshan, a representative of the Gold and Coin Union, told the official Sharq newspaper that gold sellers were reluctant to register their capital and long-standing stocks in the global trading system.
With half a million people employed in Iran’s gold industry and 70,000 active guild members, the impact of the ongoing strike is significant.
This is not an isolated incident. Similar strikes took place in several Iranian cities, including Urmia, Isfahan, Qom, Tehran, Bandar Abbas and Tabriz, highlighting widespread discontent among gold sellers.
The government’s fiscal policies, led by Ebrahim Raïssi’s administration and supported by the Majlis (Parliament of the mullahs), have been a major point of contention. News of a proposed 25% tax on gold and jewelry sales, although initially denied, further fueled unrest among gold sellers.
In December 2023, after a week of strike, Ehsan Khandouzi, the Minister of Economy and Finance, gave in to the demands of the gold sellers and announced that he was giving up registering their information in the global trading system. However, the recent sealing of gold shops in Mashhad is a stark reminder of the duplicity of the regime and its tendency to resort to repression as the main tool in the fight against dissent.
