An Unhappy Persian New Year in Tehran

The days before March 21 this year were supposed to be busy with shoppers in Tehran and elsewhere in Iran preparing for Nowruz, the Persian new year, the most prosperous time for merchants and shopkeepers. But pedestrian traffic is sparse in the capital. Some people who have ventured out are wearing masks and gloves, but others seem indifferent to protective measures. Restaurants and cafes are empty; and the confectioneries—usually packed with folks shopping for new year’s candies and sweets—are deserted, stark and almost naked because of the bright lights shining through their tall windows, exposing tray upon tray of unsold pastries, nuts, and chocolates.

On the sidewalks, peddlers spread their products on the ground, but no one’s paying attention. “People are afraid of corona,” says one seller, using the popular shortened term for the new coronavirus. “They don’t want to touch anything. They think they’d carry corona to their homes.” On Enghelab Square, near the University of Tehran, some bookstores were closed, and those that weren’t had no customers, not even window-shoppers.