00:00The protests in Iran continue.
00:04The main trigger for the days-long unrest is the country's dramatic economic situation.
00:10Due to high inflation, people can't afford basic goods and services any longer,
00:15and they're upset with the authorities they're accusing of ruining the lives of many Iranians.
00:21They have been trying to lower inflation rates.
00:25Instead, we saw this past few months, inflation increased maybe by 50%.
00:32So the inflation in November ran at an annual rate of 72%.
00:40So I don't know if there is the economic means to stabilize prices, stabilize the exchange rate.
00:51Iranians are unable to export oil, but they're also unable to export anything else.
00:58Oil and gas exports are Iran's most important source of income.
01:03However, due to U.S. sanctions, revenues in this and other sectors are declining dramatically.
01:09At the same time, the currency has become virtually worthless overnight.
01:13While one dollar equaled around 43,000 riyals in December,
01:18Iranians now have to spend almost one million riyals for a single dollar.
01:23That's an increase of more than 2,200%.
01:26Following this massive currency collapse, the head of the Iranian central bank resigned at the end of December.
01:34But the economy remains in dire straits.
01:36The protests have also given many exiled Iranians hope for change and improvement.
01:41But no one knows how it will end.
01:44I was in Iran a few months ago, and I just couldn't believe how my middle-class family could not even simply afford a basic need.
01:54And I come from a middle-class background, let alone to the poor people.
01:59There is no future, there is no job, there is no water, there is no electricity.
02:02Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump has reacted to the high death toll and expressed support for the protests,
02:09announcing immediate additional tariffs on all countries, still doing business with Iran.
02:15This primarily affects China, a major buyer of Iranian oil.
Comments