Livelihood Protests Continue Amid Fluctuating Dollar and Gold Rates; Steel Workers and Farmers Gather

As the rates of foreign currencies and gold continue to rise in Iran, livelihood protests on Wednesday, April 29, continued with the ongoing sit-in of farmers in Isfahan, gatherings of dismissed steel industry workers, and employees of transportation companies in Ahvaz. A group of defrauded individuals also gathered in Amol. According to the Telegram channel 'Civil Protest Market', the sit-in of Isfahan farmers demanding water rights from the Zayandeh Rud river continues, and with distrust in the promises of responsible officials, 'they say we will stand until we see the water behind the Abshar dam with our own eyes.' These protesters, stating that 'we have no trust in this system,' say 'they have promised hundreds of times, but they want to neutralize our protests as farmers and then go back on their promises,' but 'farmers are making it clear to them that they can no longer deceive us.' Meanwhile, in Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan province, dismissed workers of the National Industrial Steel Group protested against their 'unjust dismissal' on Wednesday. According to the Telegram channel 'Iran Retirees Council', these protesters declared that 'protesting against poverty and corruption is our legitimate right,' warning that if they are not reinstated, they will gather 'in front of the central building of Bank Melli.' Additionally, employees of transportation companies in Ahvaz held a protest in front of the municipality building in the capital of Khuzestan province on Wednesday, April 29. Continuing the livelihood protests in Iran, a group of defrauded customers of 'Mobile Mousavi Amol' also gathered on Tuesday, April 28, in Amol, Mazandaran province. According to the Civil Protest Market channel, those who ordered mobile phones since last October have still not received their phones after seven months. In recent months, fraud and financial corruption in 'Kourosh Company' have made headlines, leaving a multitude of defrauded customers. The continuation of livelihood protests in Iran comes as the rising fluctuations in the rates of foreign currencies, coins, and gold in the Iranian market persist. On Wednesday, at the time of this report, the selling price of one US dollar in the Iranian market is 66,200 tomans, and one gold coin known as 'Imami pattern' is sold for 44,500,000 tomans. Meanwhile, the head of the Urban Development and Transportation Commission of the Tehran City Council announced that the prices of metro, bus tickets, and taxi fares will increase by up to 45% starting from the first day of Ordibehesht, and reports indicate that the Islamic Republic government has recorded the highest rent increase in the history of official data. In recent days, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran claimed that indicators show 'economic growth,' but an analyst in an interview with VOA emphasized the poor livelihood conditions of the people, accusing Ebrahim Raisi's government of 'sophistry in data analysis,' preventing the publication of statistics, and resorting to 'promoting pseudoscience.'