The head of Newspaper Distributors and Salespeople Union believes it is not within the purview of municipalities to decide what items street kiosks are allowed to sell.
“The body in charge of this matter is Iran Chamber of Guilds,” Hossein Fekri was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
He was reacting to a ban recently placed by Tehran Municipality’s Organizing Industries and Urban Jobs Company on the sale of tobacco and snacks by street kiosks and newsstands.
“Thanks to the widespread use of social media as well as news websites and agencies, the sales of print newspaper are in decline. It is not possible to pay the rents of kiosks only by selling newspapers and magazines,» he said.
Fekri noted that there are 1,200 street kiosks in Tehran and 30,000 are making a living out of them.
