Expansion of Protests Amid Increasing Pressures; At Least 19 Gatherings Held on May 2

Human rights and professional media in Iran reported on Thursday, May 2, that at least 19 protest gatherings took place across Iran amid increasing social and economic pressures on the people. The news agency HRANA, the news organ of human rights activists in Iran, announced that a group of active and retired educators in Tehran and 15 other cities gathered in front of education departments to demand attention to their demands and living conditions. The gatherings in Tehran and Bushehr turned violent due to government intervention, and several teacher union activists were arrested. In Mashhad, teachers also intended to hold a gathering, which was met with government forces' obstruction. The demands of the protesting educators in Iran included the release of imprisoned teachers, the cancellation of expulsion orders, early retirement, free education for 930,000 out-of-school students in the country, the elimination of educational discrimination, the removal of any gender discrimination in science, and the payment of six months of back pay from the second half of the Persian year 1399. Simultaneously, a group of victims of the 'Mehr Housing' project, several workers from Pars Paper Company, and a group of municipal workers in Zahedan, Shush, and Gilan held protest gatherings demanding their rights. The end of this week coincided with International Workers' Day and Teacher's Day, two groups that have faced numerous economic challenges in the years following the establishment of the Islamic Republic, especially in recent years. The Open Data Iran database reported on May 1 that the minimum monthly salary for teachers in Iran is about $159, while a primary school teacher in Turkey earns over $1,200. The average salary for teachers in New Zealand is $90,000, in the U.S. it is $44,000, and in Finland, it is nearly $40,000 per year. Teacher organizations in Iran have been seeking increased salaries for teachers and cultural retirees alongside their other demands, such as free education. Reports indicate that at least 17 teacher union activists have been summoned in Sanandaj, and media reports detail resignations, job changes, and nurses leaving their jobs amid widespread protests against the death sentence of Tomaj Salehi. Gohar Eshghi stated that the Khamenei regime has reached a breaking point. Protests by telecommunications retirees in several provinces of Iran have also been reported, highlighting the disparity between an 11 million toman salary and a 30 million toman cost of living, with one union activist claiming the government has trampled on retirees' rights.