Government Agents Attack Retirees' Gathering, Arrest Several

Protests over living conditions in Iran continued on Sunday, October 7, with gatherings of retirees from the steel industry and social security in at least Tehran, Gilan, Isfahan, and Khuzestan provinces. Government forces in Tehran attacked the retirees' protest, arresting several individuals. According to reports received by VOA and published by trade sources, the protest of steel industry retirees in Tehran saw participants from various cities, alongside retirees from the national and social security organizations, gathering in front of the presidential building while police surrounded the area. Reports indicate that while the presidential institution and Masoud Pezeshkian's office were unresponsive to the protesters, "the police violently attacked the crowd" in an attempt to disperse them. During this gathering, slogans such as "This much injustice, a nation has never seen," "Inflation and high prices, a plague on the people," "Our rights can only be claimed on the streets," "Steelworkers shout, demand your rights," "Retirees shout, demand your rights," "Livelihood and dignity are our undeniable rights," "Shout, shout, against all this injustice," and "Unity, unity, against oppression and corruption" were chanted. The Telegram channel "Civil Protest" reported that government agents "violently tried to disperse the retirees, and when they faced resistance, they beat some and arrested them. An elderly man fell in the street and was lifted with difficulty. The more retirees tried to free those arrested from the agents' grasp, the more intense the agents' violence became." Meanwhile, protesters shouted "Shameless, shameless" at the government agents in an attempt to prevent the arrested individuals from being taken into police vehicles. Simultaneously, groups of retirees in Ahvaz, Isfahan, and Rasht also held protest gatherings. Additionally, a number of taxi drivers protested against the Kashan municipality's decision to cut off their radios, which has caused job, livelihood, and family problems for them, in front of the city council of Kashan. The increase in protests over living conditions in Iran and the shrinking household budgets comes as Islamic Republic officials acknowledge sending dozens of tons of aid shipments to Lebanon. The expansion of protests by various groups, including retirees, workers from various industries, teachers, investors, and healthcare workers, indicates increasing livelihood problems in Iran and the indifference of Islamic Republic officials. Borghan Nazemi, an economist, recently told VOA that Iran is experiencing "persistent high inflation," with factors such as the government's financial irresponsibility towards the people and the severe weakness of the Central Bank's monetary tools, as well as significant delays in banking regulations and oversight systems, being among the reasons for this.