Manouchehri Street

This article touches on a source of rising tension in Iran. Each day on Manouchehri Street Iranian men meet to buy and sell American dollars. Their reason for doing this is that their confidence in the Iranian currency, the rial, is collapsing. Although, the police are cracking down on these types of trades, most men believe that it is worth it. In Iran food prices are going up and many workers salaries is not enough to provide for them and their families. Although an actual economic collapse has not occurred yet, many citizens fear war and economic pain in the near future. On top of this, as economic conditions threaten to worsen, many Iranians become more and more resentful of the west, an idea that we talked about in class. The article is interesting because it portrays Iran's economic struggles not through GDP per capita or through World Bank statistics, but through an interesting case of ordinary Iranians trying to make a good life for their families. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/world/middleeast/irans-middle-class-on-edge-as-international-tensions-rise.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0