24-Day School Closure in 3 Months; Observers: The Country is Completely Shut Down

Iranian schools at various educational levels have been closed for a total of 24 days over the past three months. The reasons cited for these closures include an energy crisis, air pollution, and in some cases, cold weather and rain or snow. However, observers claim that 'the country is completely shut down' due to the 'corruption' of the Islamic Republic officials. In recent weeks, Islamic Republic officials have daily closed schools, higher education centers, and government offices in many provinces and have imposed restrictions on the work of trades and market vendors. While these sudden and ongoing closures are often attributed to air pollution or the energy crisis, which government officials refer to as 'energy imbalance,' some observers emphasize that the repeated closures are due to a 'tsunami of bankruptcy' of the government, describing it as a form of 'soft martial law.' Some observers on social media have linked the frequent closures to the instability of the Islamic Republic. One user on the social media platform 'X' wrote: 'They are completely shutting down the country to negotiate. During the entire negotiation period, the country is still shut down until the negotiation status is clarified.' According to this citizen, 'the situation of people's livelihoods is worsening,' and therefore 'we have the right to think that government officials are corrupt and instead of serving the people, they are strengthening their own mafia.' Another citizen, referring to the announcement of 'two days of power outages in industrial towns,' stated: 'The country is such that when the air is polluted, we pray for rain to breathe. When it rains, the air gets cold, the electricity goes out, and factories shut down.' The Tehran-based newspaper Shargh reported on Thursday, January 17, that after the nationwide closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, December and January have been 'among the most challenging months for Iranian students.' According to the report, 'frequent closures, late announcements of closures, and the uncertainty of examination methods and dates are the main concerns of Iranian students at present.' The announcement of school and university closures and the holding of classes online comes while, according to citizen reports, power outages and subsequent internet cuts or slow internet speeds have made distance learning impossible. Shargh stated that 'remote education has clearly reduced the quality of students' learning' and has also affected the quality of teachers' work. In recent days, an eyewitness from Tehran told Voice of America that in addition to the closure of schools and government offices 'under the pretext of air pollution,' work in private offices and companies has also faced numerous problems and 'the problem is not just air pollution.' According to this informed source, 'frequent power outages at various times of the day have harmed businesses,' and 'with internet cuts due to power outages, remote work is also impossible for employees in these conditions.' This source also pointed to 'water cuts due to pump failures resulting from power outages in apartment units' and stated that government officials 'reduce the pressure of daily problems from themselves by closing kindergartens and schools and placing the burden on working mothers and fathers.' Considering the official weekend closures, which in Iran include Thursdays and Fridays, students were supposed to attend school for 19 days this month, of which 12 days were closed, and in December, out of the 20 days scheduled for school attendance, 9 days were closed. In November, schools were also closed for three days. Some families of students attributed the repeated school closures to increased school infestations of 'lice,' but the Ministry of Health has dismissed it as a rumor. The closure of schools and educational centers under the pretext of air pollution and cold weather comes while the weather conditions in Iran have not significantly changed compared to previous years, and for this reason, some citizens say that government officials are hiding the real reasons for the closures. In recent days, while the Ministry of Science of the Islamic Republic announced that due to 'weather conditions,' universities are allowed to hold virtual classes until the end of the year, some observers have regarded this action as 'soft martial law' and others have considered it 'unofficial nationwide strikes.' Some observers have attributed the repeated closures to the fear of the Islamic Republic officials of widespread protests. According to previous statements by government officials, the Islamic Republic has lost its social capital, and economic bankruptcy has reached a stage where famine is a possibility. Meanwhile, Mohammad Hashemi, brother of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and former head of the Islamic Republic's Broadcasting Organization, predicted in an interview with the government website Jamaran that the price of one US dollar in the Iranian market will reach 110,000 tomans before the arrival of Nowruz and 'will even increase after that.' Previously, coinciding with the turmoil in Iran's financial markets, Prince Reza Pahlavi described this situation as 'the latest achievement of the incompetent regime of the Islamic Republic and the Ali Khamenei-appointed government' and referred to warnings from economic experts about the worsening of people's living conditions, urging various Iranian factions to 'support and stand by each other's protests beyond sectoral demands.'