Iran targets wallets of those who dare passive resistance

Mohammad Saedinia is one of Iran's wealthiest people, owner of the Saedinia café chain (known for its chocolate and premium-class confectionery products), which has branches in Tehran and other major cities. This is a figure on the scale of an "Iranian Starbucks/Roshen." Saedinia created a brand that was aesthetically Western but Iranian in essence.

The regime accuses him of financing "rioters" and using his establishments as coordination centers. His network of cafés and confectioneries was a favorite place for Tehran's liberal youth and middle class. In his coffee shops, girls often allowed themselves to lower their hijabs to their shoulders, and young people exchanged news bypassing state censorship.

The reason for his arrest, among other things, was the businessman's joining of the Tehran bazaar entrepreneurs' strike at the end of December 2024.

"Obviously, this is a highly symbolic move. The arrest of such a figure is the regime's attempt to destroy the infrastructure of liberal thought and demonstrate that economic success and patronage are no longer "armor." The regime is attacking the wallets of those who dare to engage in passive resistance."

At the same time, this is a strong signal that the pact with business is being further destroyed. For decades, Iranian business maintained neutrality in exchange for the ability to operate. Now that's finished. The authorities have moved to direct expropriation, which indirectly indicates a massive resource deficit for maintaining the security forces.

Interestingly, Ottoman sultans Selim I and later Murad IV in the 16th and 17th centuries actively fought against "coffee houses as centers of free thought." They feared that over a cup of coffee, people were discussing not the Quran but the government's mistakes. As a result, the attempt to close coffee houses led to the opposition becoming secret and the anger more concentrated. More to come!

Source

About the author. Ihor Semyvolos, Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

The editorial staff does not always share the opinions expressed by blog authors.