Numerous stores and businesses remained closed on Monday, the first of three days of a general strike called by social and political organizations to protest against the repression of recent demonstrations in Iran.
Videos posted on social networks show stores closed in major cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz, Sanandaj, Ilam or Urmia and there are also videos of closed stores in Iranian villages, although they are recordings whose veracity could not be verified.
In Tehran, some shopkeepers have reportedly received threats of fines if they close, despite which many stores have decided not to open their doors.
The Kurdish human rights group Hengaw has reported that 19 cities in the west of the country have joined the general strike, known as 14-15-16 because of its dates in the Persian calendar. In addition to the call for a strike, citizens have been asked to avoid shopping on these three days.
Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in recent weeks in a wave of protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish-Iranian woman arrested by the Morality Police in Tehran for allegedly not wearing the veil properly. Amini died a few days later in a hospital. The authorities have acknowledged at least 300 deaths in the protests and their unrest, which they attribute to foreign influence.
