TEHRAN: A strike in Iran's traditional bazaars has expanded despite an order by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to suspend a new sales tax that ignited the protest more than a week ago. The main entrance to the Grand Bazaar in Tehran was closed Sunday, as major traders like carpet and textile merchants joined the jewelers, who had started the strike in Tehran. The strike continued in the traditional bazaars in several other large cities, including Isfahan, where it erupted first on Oct. 4. In the latest sign of discontent with Ahmadinejad's economic policies, the merchants went on strike to protest being included in the country's first value-added tax, a 3 percent levy on all products except basic commodities like dairy products and bread. In an effort to persuade the traders to end their strike, Ahmadinejad said last week that the new tax law would be suspended for two months. But the newspaper Sarmayeh reported Sunday that the traders had demanded that the law be permanently revoked.
TEHRAN: A strike in Iran's traditional bazaars has expanded despite an order by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to suspend a new sales tax that ignited the protest more than a week ago.
The main entrance to the Grand Bazaar in Tehran was closed Sunday, as major traders like carpet and textile merchants joined the jewelers, who had started the strike in Tehran. The strike continued in the traditional bazaars in several other large cities, including Isfahan, where it erupted first on Oct. 4.
In the latest sign of discontent with Ahmadinejad's economic policies, the merchants went on strike to protest being included in the country's first value-added tax, a 3 percent levy on all products except basic commodities like dairy products and bread.
In an effort to persuade the traders to end their strike, Ahmadinejad said last week that the new tax law would be suspended for two months. But the newspaper Sarmayeh reported Sunday that the traders had demanded that the law be permanently revoked.
TEHRAN -- Former President Mohammad Khatami, a moderate under pressure by political allies to challenge President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in elections next year, held a high-profile event here on Monday that many saw as a possible first step in his return to the political arena. Skip to next paragraph Related Times Topics: Iran The event drew several former Western leaders, the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that so many had attended a conference here that was not sponsored by the government.Mr. Khatami has hinted that he may run for president, but has not officially announced his candidacy. On Monday, he dismissed the suggestion that the meeting had any connection to electoral politics, saying that the conference, on "Religion in the Modern World," had been scheduled two years earlier, the news agency ISNA reported. But the high-level participants -- including the former secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan; the former Italian prime minister, Romano Prodi; the former Irish president, Mary Robinson; and the former president of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio -- demonstrated Mr. Khatami's popularity in the West. Mr. Ahmadinejad, by contrast, has isolated Iran with his hostile words. He now faces serious domestic challenges because of a weak economy.
TEHRAN -- Former President Mohammad Khatami, a moderate under pressure by political allies to challenge President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in elections next year, held a high-profile event here on Monday that many saw as a possible first step in his return to the political arena. Skip to next paragraph Related Times Topics: Iran
The event drew several former Western leaders, the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that so many had attended a conference here that was not sponsored by the government.
Mr. Khatami has hinted that he may run for president, but has not officially announced his candidacy. On Monday, he dismissed the suggestion that the meeting had any connection to electoral politics, saying that the conference, on "Religion in the Modern World," had been scheduled two years earlier, the news agency ISNA reported.
But the high-level participants -- including the former secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan; the former Italian prime minister, Romano Prodi; the former Irish president, Mary Robinson; and the former president of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio -- demonstrated Mr. Khatami's popularity in the West.
Mr. Ahmadinejad, by contrast, has isolated Iran with his hostile words. He now faces serious domestic challenges because of a weak economy.
