Market Strike in Tehran; Gas Workers Protest in Bushehr

Protests over living conditions in Iran continued with a strike by some market vendors in Tehran, a strike by employees of the Fajr Jam gas refinery, and gatherings of workers from the Karun Big irrigation project, the Middle East sugar factory, and a group of retirees in Kermanshah. According to the Telegram channel 'Civil Protest of the Market', a group of vendors closed their shops and held a protest in the streets of Molavi, Khayyam South, and the Vahdat Square in Tehran in response to rising prices and the increase in the dollar rate. Simultaneously, some employees of the oil and gas industries of Arkan Salis and project workers of the Fajr Jam gas refinery in Bushehr province gathered again to protest the lack of attention to their demands. Additionally, according to ILNA news agency, contract workers of the Karun Big irrigation and drainage network in Shushtar, Khuzestan province, protested and gathered on Tuesday morning due to unmet demands and the lack of job security. Workers at the Middle East sugar factory in Shushtar also continued their protests against the non-implementation of job classification plans and the lack of improvement in their working conditions. A group of retirees in Kermanshah called for unity to protest against 'poverty and corruption'. The expansion of protests among various groups, including retirees, workers from different industries, teachers, defrauded investors, nurses, and healthcare workers, indicates the increasing economic difficulties in Iran and the indifference of the Islamic Republic's officials. These protests have been expanding while the security and judicial apparatus of the Islamic Republic of Iran has summoned, arrested, and issued prison sentences, even lashes and exile, for labor activists, teachers, and retirees in recent years. Following the worsening economic crisis for Iranian citizens, economist Siamak Javadi recently told the Persian section of Voice of America that the Islamic Republic is pursuing 'Shia ideological goals' and is spending Iran's wealth on the 'Shia community' in the region instead of investing in the country. According to him, the economic problems for the people of Iran occur 'deliberately' and are not due to mismanagement, and 'all policies are against national interests.' Why is inflation not controlled? The Islamic Republic, as the most indebted economic entity, benefits greatly from the existence of inflation, and the real value of debts is decreasing. Javadi emphasized that 'the priorities of the Islamic Republic are in Islamic propaganda, the seminaries, and the repression apparatus, not in the livelihood of Iranians.' Previously, Prince Reza Pahlavi, referring to the severe drop in the value of the national currency against the US dollar and other foreign currencies, urged Iranians to 'support and stand by each other's protests beyond sectoral demands,' emphasizing that 'it is through the solidarity and unity of all segments of the Iranian nation that we can achieve the larger goal of freedom and salvation for Iran.'