Nationalistic Persians were angered by the tens of thousands of skilled foreign workers who came to Iran, many of them to help operate the already unpopular and expensive American high-tech military equipment that the Shah had spent hundreds of millions of dollars on.The next year the Rastakhiz political party was created. It became not only the only party Iranians were permitted to belong to, but one the “whole adult population” was required to belong and pay dues to. The party attempted to take a populist stand fining and jailing merchants in its “anti-profiteering” campaigns, but this proved not only economically harmful but also politically counterproductive. Inflation morphed into a black market and business activity declined. Merchants were angered and politicized.