Widespread Protests Amidst the Fall of the Rial: Our Enemy is Right Here

Amid turmoil in financial markets and rising prices of the dollar and gold, livelihood protests are ongoing in various regions of Iran. On Sunday, retirees gathered in several cities, chanting slogans such as "Our enemy is right here, they lie that it is America." According to reports received by Voice of America and shared on social media, livelihood protests were taking place in at least Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Shush. Simultaneously, customers of Ford Motor in Tehran, health workers in Minab, and shopkeepers in Ardabil also gathered on Sunday, March 5. The continuation of these protests comes as the price of one US dollar in the free market of Iran exceeds 95,000 tomans. Additionally, each gold coin known as the "Imami plan" is being sold for more than 76 million 600 thousand tomans. As the prices of gold and foreign currencies rise, livelihood protests in Iran have intensified. A group of retirees from the Social Security Organization and educators gathered in front of the Social Security Organization in Tehran, demanding the release of detained labor activists. Retirees in Isfahan chanted: "Our enemy is right here, they lie that it is America." In Shush, a city in Khuzestan province, protesting retirees emphasized the nationwide nature of livelihood problems and the indifference of Islamic Republic officials to the shrinking tables of citizens, chanting: "From Khuzestan to Gilan, shame on these managers." Retirees in Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan province, also shouted: "Retiree, shout out, demand your rights." Another video from protests in Isfahan shows retirees emphasizing the negligence of various Islamic Republic officials towards citizens' livelihood problems, chanting: "Neither the parliament nor the government cares about the nation." Alongside the protests of retirees in various cities, some customers of Ford Motor protested in Tehran against "delays in car deliveries" despite having paid. Reports from the Human Rights Activists in Iran indicate that several health workers in Minab and a group of shopkeepers in Ardabil also held protests on Sunday, March 5. The expansion of protests among various groups, including retirees, workers from various industries, teachers, defrauded individuals, and nurses, indicates increasing livelihood problems in Iran and the indifference of Islamic Republic officials. Following the worsening livelihood crisis for Iranian citizens, economist Siamak Javadi recently told the Persian section of Voice of America that the Islamic Republic is pursuing "the ideological goals of Shiism" and is spending Iran's wealth on the "Shiite community" in the region instead of investing in the country. He stated that livelihood problems for the Iranian people are happening "deliberately" and are not due to mismanagement, and that "all policies are against national interests." Why is inflation not being controlled? The Islamic Republic, as the most indebted economic entity, benefits greatly from the existence of inflation, and the real value of debt is diminishing. Siamak Javadi emphasized that "the priorities of the Islamic Republic are in Islamic propaganda, religious seminaries, and the repression apparatus, not in the livelihoods of Iranians."