U.S. State Department: We Support Workers' Legitimate Demands in Iran

Robert Palladino, the Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, criticized the arrest of protesting workers from the National Steel Company of Ahvaz by Iranian security forces on Monday, December 17. Palladino tweeted: "Yesterday, the Iranian regime arrested the Ahvaz steelworkers who were merely asking for their wages. Unfortunately, the regime has always mistreated the people of Iran." The Deputy Spokesperson emphasized: "The United States supports their legitimate demands. Iranians deserve to live in peace and with dignity." Reports indicate that at least 29 workers from the National Steel Company of Ahvaz were arrested by security forces at 2 AM on Monday. Meanwhile, a reporter from the Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, quoted protesting workers as saying: "Bagheri, the operations chief of the IRGC in Khuzestan province, attended the protesting workers and, while inviting them to remain calm, said: Those arrested who are from the worker body will be released by the end of today, December 17." The presence of the IRGC official at the scene and his response regarding these arrests may indicate that the arrests were carried out by IRGC agents. According to reports, the identities of 31 individuals arrested from last night until today are as follows: "Meisam Ali Ghanavati, Eisa Marai, Amin Alavani, Morteza Akbariyan, Tareq Khalafi, Masoud Afri, Jafar Sobhani, Mostafa Abiyat, Gharib Hoveyzavi, Hossein Davoodi, Karim Sayahi, Hamed Basari, Hafez Kanani, Hamed Joudaki, Kazem Heydari, Yaser Ebrahimi, Majid Janadaleh, Kourosh Ismaili, Ali Oghba, Mohsen Balouti, Mohammad Pour Hassan, Mohsen Behbahani, Seyyed Habib Tabatabai, Jassem Roumzi, Ali Etemadi, Seyyed Ali Javadpour, Javad Gholami, Abdolreza Dasti, Seyyed Ahmad Seyednoor, Fariborz Sheikh Rabat, and Ehsan Yousefi." Workers at the National Steel Company of Ahvaz have been continuously protesting for about 40 days due to unfulfilled promises by officials regarding the payment of their wages and arrears in front of various government institutions in Khuzestan province. Their demands include "payment of overdue wages," "resumption of production and supply of raw materials," "establishment of social and supplementary insurance," and "attention to the living conditions of workers." The National Bank owns the Ahvaz Steel Company. In recent months, workers from Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane and the National Steel Company have held large protests in Shush Daniel and Ahvaz. Several Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane workers had also been arrested previously. The Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Workers' Syndicate had previously announced that Ismail Bakshi, a representative of the workers of this company, and Sepideh Gholian, a civil activist, were "severely beaten and subjected to severe psychological and physical pressures" during their arrest. Ismail Bakshi was released on Wednesday, December 12, but Sepideh Gholian, who was arrested with him, remains imprisoned.