Currency weakness: Iran bans 1,300 imports as protesters, police clash

Iran is banning imports of over 1,300 products, preparing its economy to resist threatened US sanctions, amid rare public protests against the plunge of its currency to record lows.
Police patrolled Tehran's Grand Bazaar on Monday as security forces struggled to restore normality after clashes with protesters angered by the rial's collapse, which is disrupting business by driving up the cost of imports, witnesses said.
Traders from the bazaar, whose merchants supported Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, told Reuters by telephone that most shops remained closed.
"Police have dispersed the protectors. We are all angry with the economic situation. We cannot continue our businesses like this. But we are not against the regime," said a merchant in the bazaar, who asked not to be identified.
Industries and trade minister Mohammad Shariatmadari slapped the import ban on 1,339 goods that could instead be produced within the country, Iran's Financial Tribune newspaper reported on Monday, quoting an official document.
Prohibited imports include home appliances, textile products, footwear and leather products, as well as furniture, healthcare products and some machinery, the Tehran Times said.