Grand Bazaar reopens after rial riots

Tehran's Grand Bazaar reopened under close police supervision, days after it was shut by clashes between riot police and protesters blaming the government for the collapse of the Iranian currency. The government was locked in a test of wills with currency dealers as it tried unsuccessfully to impose a stronger rial exchange rate. Dealers in Tehran and Dubai, an offshore centre for business with Iran, said rates indicated by state media were not commonly accepted so there was almost no trade in the free market for the rial. U.S. lawmakers are considering expanding American economic sanctions on Iran in the wake of a plunge by the currency earlier in the week that triggered street protests but have not yet convinced Tehran to abandon its nuclear program.