The New York Times reports:

Businesses, universities and government offices stayed closed on Wednesday across most of Iran under a government-ordered shutdown, as the president struggled to address public frustration that has fueled mounting protests over the faltering economy and the government.

The one-day shutdown in 21 of Iran’s 31 provinces, including Tehran, the capital, came as President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday appointed a new central bank chief, the former economy minister Abdolnaser Hemmati. The president acknowledged that it was an “extremely difficult and complex” role that would subject the new bank head to intense pressure and criticism, according to state news media.

Iran’s inflation rate has spiked, driving frustrated merchants to the streets in Tehran and other cities, and prompting the abrupt resignation of the former central bank head, Mohammad Reza Farzin, on Monday.

The disruptions caused by the days of protests came as footage circulating on social media on Wednesday and verified by The New York Times showed demonstrators throwing objects at the gates of a government building complex in Fasa, in south-central Iran, and then shaking them until they opened.

The protests have spread and drawn in demonstrators from across sectors and society, with the demonstrators increasingly also expressing frustration and anger at the regime over not only the economy but severe water shortages and more. “Death to the dictator,” protesters shouted at a demonstration in Hamedan in west-central Iran, according to a video posted by BBC Persian. [Continue reading…]