Last week President Mahmud Ahmadinejad made his last official UN General Assembly visit, and upon his return to Tehran he encountered protests sparked by a dramatic slide in his country's currency. RFE/RL looks closer at Iran's turbulent week.
# Tehran's Grand Bazaar closed Wednesday as authorities cracked down on black market currency traders in the Iranian capital. Witnesses said the raid led to clashes between riot police and dozens of protestors in central Tehran angry at the collapse of the Iranian rial, reported to have lost more than half of its value since last week.
# Golnaz Esfandiari analyzes the recent report "The Ayatollah's Nuclear Gamble," which estimates up to 70,000 people would be killed or injured after being exposed to toxic plumes released if Iran's suspected nuclear weapons cache is attacked, creating a scenario on par with the humanitarian and environmental disasters of the gas leak in Bhopal or the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl.
# The U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) condemns the recent jamming of international media satellite signals -- including Radio Farda, VOA, and BBC -- which may be connected with Wednesday's demonstrations and mass arrests and follows a weeklong blackout of Gmail and YouTube.
# Lastly, when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.
Follow Esfandiari on Twitter and the latest news from Radio Farda online and on Twitter. For breaking news in all RFE/RL regions find us on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest.
# Tehran's Grand Bazaar closed Wednesday as authorities cracked down on black market currency traders in the Iranian capital. Witnesses said the raid led to clashes between riot police and dozens of protestors in central Tehran angry at the collapse of the Iranian rial, reported to have lost more than half of its value since last week.
# Golnaz Esfandiari analyzes the recent report "The Ayatollah's Nuclear Gamble," which estimates up to 70,000 people would be killed or injured after being exposed to toxic plumes released if Iran's suspected nuclear weapons cache is attacked, creating a scenario on par with the humanitarian and environmental disasters of the gas leak in Bhopal or the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl.
# The U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) condemns the recent jamming of international media satellite signals -- including Radio Farda, VOA, and BBC -- which may be connected with Wednesday's demonstrations and mass arrests and follows a weeklong blackout of Gmail and YouTube.
# Lastly, when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.
Follow Esfandiari on Twitter and the latest news from Radio Farda online and on Twitter. For breaking news in all RFE/RL regions find us on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest.