In Iran, not a day goes by without popular protests and spontaneous rallies and strikes. In this respect, different classes of society resort to protests to achieve their inherent rights. According to our sources, on January 6, citizens from different walks of life held at least seven protests.

Iranians Continue Protests; at Least Seven Rallies and Strikes on January 6

Ph.D. students, retirees and their families, villagers, nursing students, teachers, and stockholders held gatherings in front of government offices in various cities. During their protests, citizens complained to officials about their failure to pay salaries, pensions, and arrears.

People see the regime and its officials as the main reason for their dilemmas and hardship. Therefore, protesters directly address high-ranking officials and influential apparatuses like the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in their protests.

Rally of Ph.D. Students
Rally of Ph.D. Students

Rally of Ph.D. Students

Tehran province—Ph.D. students of the Azad [Free] University held a rally in front of the university’s central organization. They protested the adoption of a new directive about defending the dissertation.

“The Azad University compensates for economic recessions and pressure at the expense of students,” “Why is the Azad University not accountable to anybody and institution?” and “The directive of defending Ph.D. must be revoked,” read the students’ banners.

Rally of Retirees and Pensioners
Rally of Retirees and Pensioners

Rally of Retirees and Pensioners

Tehran province—following the regime’s failure to provide their demands, retirees of the Social Security Organization once again rallied in front of the organization’s office. They urged officials to balance retirees and pensioners’ wages, based on a plan passed by the Parliament (Majlis).

According to the plan, the Social Security Organization must pay its retirees’ wages in proportion to other retirees’ funds. In addition to the complete implementation of the plan, protesters complained to Welfare Ministry officials about their indifference toward retirees’ and pensioners’ living conditions.

Protesters also demanded the government allocate an adequate budget to the Social Security Organization to implement the plan. They also blamed the government for the 2021-22 budget bill and demanded it removes institutionalized discrimination in the second footnote of clause V.

Retirees demanded the government increase pensioners’ budget from 900 trillion rials [$3.6 billion] to 1.5 quadrillion rials [$6 billion]. They urged officials to force the Social Security Organization to implement the plan and pay annual awards to retirees and pensioners like other employees.

At the end of the gathering, protesters read a statement about the government’s violations in implementing the plan. “Today, inflation and high prices grow. Critical conditions that originated in the continuation of the coronavirus outbreak had added salt to the retirees’ and pensioners’ injuries. In such circumstances and given our illnesses and physical problems, we carried out our cries to the officials and MPs in different weather conditions.

“We time and again wrote letters and scrolls. However, we only received promises that were never kept… Every day, our food baskets become emptier, but our suffering increases… We spend our lives and younghood on serving this country. What we are asking is not excessive, and we would not be fatigued from repeating it.

Iran: Retirees Protest in 23 Cities; Six More Rallies on January 3

“Our demands are as follows:

“According to the 50-million-rial [$200] food basket—declared by the Supreme Labor Council—and growing inflation and high prices, we cannot cover our necessities and run our lives with our current pensions. Therefore, we urge the government to base pensions on the real inflation rate. While the government has announced that the lower than 100-million-rial [$400] revenue is below the poverty line, our salaries are currently below the poverty line, and our wage receipts prove this reality.

“We urge a fair proportion based on the [current] product basket’s price. We demand to receive salaries equivalent to the salaries of other administrative retirees. We do not accept discrimination in proportion between administrative retirees and the Social Security retirees.

“The government owes billions of rials to retirees’ funds, particularly the fund of the Social Security Organization. The government can and must pay its debts to these funds and provide the required resources to cover health and hygienic expenditures and pay pensioners’ rights.

“We oppose any kind of decision by the government to divert money from retirees’ funds for other expenditures. This is the betrayal of trust. We demand an unconditional stop from giving the retirees’ budget to others.

“Unfortunately, in recent years, most civil associations did not have a role in materializing our rights. Therefore, we demand dissolving these associations and holding an election to choose prudent and sufficient individuals to serve retirees and the people.”

Locals Protest Mining Activities
Locals Protest Mining Activities

Locals Protest Mining Activities

Yazd province—locals of Kurdabad village held a rally in front of the Provincial Governorate. They protested officials about the continuation of mining activities in these regions. Locals believe that these activities severely affect the regional environment and demanded officials stop them.

Since November 20, officials began the exploitation of a quarry. At the time, locals protested this project, and women played crucial roles in protests. However, the State Security Forces (SSF) mercilessly cracked down on locals and even beat female protesters and dealt with them with obscene language. Oppressive measures, furthermore, included the detention of several protesters. In their January 6 rally, locals questioned regime officials, saying, “What did we urge you but nature?”

Rally of Nursing Students
Rally of Nursing Students

Rally of Nursing Students

Mazandaran province—nursing students of Babol University held a rally in front of the nursing college. They protested low-quality online education and dilemmas of holding exams.

Due to the country’s lack of internet infrastructure, Iranian students and schoolchildren have faced enormous problems with distance learning methods. For instance, most villager students have no access to online classes. They have to climb mountains or hills to access the internet and join the curriculum.

On the other hand, the Education Ministry has recently changed some exams’ protocols, such as limiting time for questions. Furthermore, some in the education department had announced that the examinations would be held in-person, which rubbed salt into students’ wounds and raised their wrath.

Rally of Retired Workers' Families
Rally of Retired Workers’ Families

Rally of Retired Workers’ Families

Khuzestan province—families of workers and retirees staged a gathering in Shadegan county. Due to high prices and inflation, many of these families have gone below the poverty line. They vented their anger over the government’s indifference toward working families’ dilemmas. “We are hungry,” said the families.

“Where are the officials? The officials, those who sit [in their bureaus] and just think about themselves and their families. When are they supposed to help us? Aren’t we Muslims?” questioned a woman, adding, “You always speak about Islam and Islamic values. Why do you not care about these babies whose families have no money to purchase milk powder?”

Rally of Literacy Movement's Teachers
Rally of Literacy Movement’s Teachers

Rally of Literacy Movement’s Teachers

Khuzestan province—teachers from different counties held a gathering in front of the local education department. These teachers are affiliated to the Literacy Movement and urged the Education Ministry to clarify their job conditions and recruit them officially.

In addition to around 200,000 fatalities of the coronavirus pandemic, many employees have lost their careers. However, the government neither cares about people’s lives and health nor their economic dilemmas. In this respect, teachers are other victims of the mullahs’ horrible policies.

The regime has fired many teachers despite their years of experience. It has also failed to pay their salaries and arrears, which has put them in dire conditions. In this respect, teachers are constantly concerned about their job security and living conditions instead of being focused on training the next generation.

Rally of Mehr Bank's Stockholders
Rally of Mehr Bank’s Stockholders

Rally of Mehr Bank’s Stockholders

Tehran province—a group of Mehr Bank stockholders staged a gathering in front of the judiciary and the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). In their rally, stockholders protested the integration of financial bodies and military institutions.

Protesters believe that military institutions’ interference in the financial system has severely harmed their investments. “Sepah Bank [affiliated to the IRGC] has purchased Mehr-e Eqtesad’s stocks for free, but did not pay stockholders’ rights,” stockholders said.

Iranians Continue Protests; at Least Seven Rallies and Strikes on January 5