Nurses Strike in Yazd and Khuzestan; Security Forces Clash with Protesters in Ahvaz

Nurses' strikes in Iran continued on Wednesday, November 7, in the provinces of Yazd and Khuzestan, with a gathering of nurses in Ahvaz escalating into clashes due to the intervention of security forces. According to reports received by Voice of America and published on social media on Wednesday, the professional strike of nurses, which had resumed in recent days, was ongoing today in Ahvaz and Yazd. Reports indicate that the strike and protests by nurses in several hospitals in Yazd, including Sadoughi and Afshar hospitals, have continued for the fifth consecutive day, with only emergency procedures being performed. Protesting nurses in Yazd chanted, "Promises are enough, our table is empty." In Ahvaz, protesting nurses gathered in front of the central organization of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, chanting, "Nurse, shout out, demand your rights." Meanwhile, according to the 'Civil Protest Market' channel, the protest gathering of nurses in Ahvaz turned into a clash with the intervention of university security. A video report from the center of Khuzestan province shows security forces violently pushing the protesters, to which the protesting nurses responded by booing them. The intensification of nurses' problems in August led to a continuous and ongoing nationwide strike, during which hundreds of nurses and medical staff in public hospitals began protests and strikes in at least 16 provinces of Iran, continuing until September. Reports indicate that the persistence of nurses' issues has led Ahmad Najatian, the head of the Nursing System Organization, to write a letter to the Minister of Health of the Islamic Republic, stating demands such as "increasing the number of nursing service packages," "increasing the relative value of services in some sectors," and "real increases in the monetary coefficient of nursing tariffs." The continuation of nurses' strikes has led to confrontations with the Islamic Republic's intelligence forces and the arrest of several nurses, prompting reactions from the U.S. State Department and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) expressing concern over the "unjust detention and condemnation" of protesting nurses in Iran. On Tuesday, November 6, protests by nurses were also ongoing in various regions of Iran, including Shiraz, where protesters hung their uniforms along with placards containing their demands on the fence of the university of medical sciences. The expansion of professional protests by various groups, including retirees, workers from different industries, teachers, defrauded individuals, and nurses and healthcare workers, indicates increasing economic problems in Iran and the indifference of Islamic Republic officials. The continuation of economic protests in Iran coincides with escalating disputes between Israel and the Islamic Republic, and turmoil in Iran's financial markets continues.