"The wound they have caused in the souls of people will remain," said Amir, a 26-year-old shopkeeper and engineering student. "Regarding the protests, I think they are over until further notice. When they will ignite again, I do not know. But it will happen."
The week after the election, as pressure grew on local and international journalists, unknown activists began publishing an underground newspaper called Khiaban, or The Street, with dispatches from the ongoing battles between militiamen and protesters, and a photograph of a balaclava-clad woman gathering rocks.
During the months preceding Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, a series of strikes crippled the country. During this month's unrest, Mousavi at one point called for a national strike to press the government to nullify the election results. Although few explicitly followed his command, many quietly left their businesses shuttered.
Whether because of the unrest or as a sign of defiance, commerce has slowed to a trickle. In the capital's Grand Bazaar, newly spruced up with trees, pedestrian-only boulevards and horse carriage rides, business has collapsed in the months before Ramadan, when it's usually at a peak.
"There were no customers yesterday, and there are maybe one, two or three customers a day," said Nader, a 38-year-old jewelry vendor. "We now close at 4 p.m. . . . We used to stay open until 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m."
Jewelers were among those who went on strike last year to protest a value-added tax, which the government rescinded. Those three days almost crippled the entire bazaar.
Mehdi, a 26-year-old fabric wholesaler, supported Mousavi, but declined to heed his strike calls. The economy is in terrible shape, he said. "If we don't work for one week, checks will bounce, people's reputations will collapse."
How far Iranians are willing to go, they say, depends not just on the odds for success, but what that success would bring. Iranians are willing to pay for quality, but don't want to spend for shoddy goods. The same is true in politics.
They say they will be willing to play hard-core street politics -- launching wildcat strikes, demonstrating in the street, organizing networks -- only if opposition leaders are smart and tough, or at least willing to take more chances.
Reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi, who according to official results placed last in the election, has spoken out forcefully and dared to wade into crowds to cheer on protesters. Mousavi at one point reportedly said he'd be willing to die for his cause, though an aide later denied he made the remark.
