Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, lauded the brave Bazaar merchants who have staged strikes in Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan. She called on Iranian youths and Bazaar merchants elsewhere in Iran to extend their support and solidarity with them.
Mrs. Rajavi added that the extensive and nationwide strike indicates that the Iranian regime has not spared any section of Iranian society from brutality, oppression and aggression and that the entire Iranian nation is seeking the overthrow of the ruling religious fascism and the establishment of democracy.
President-elect of the Iranian Resistance pointed out that although the recent strike was caused by the plan to increase the taxes on Bazaar merchants by 70 percent, disenchantment among Bazaar merchants has many more dimensions. The clerical regime has forced many Bazaar merchants into bankruptcy and poverty by giving the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps predominance in the Iranian economy and import and export networks. It has also caused virtual stagnation in Iran’s industries, including textiles, forcing them to shut down.
Mrs. Rajavi said the strike in Bazaar is a warning to all those foreign investors who still think of investing in Iran, are continuing their commercial ties with the faltering regime and are obstructing the imposition of comprehensive sanctions against this regime.

Commission on Business Guilds of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
July 8, 2010