From retirees and workers to landowners, social-service employees, students, and sailors, tens of thousands across Iran rose up on November 30 to denounce a system that has abandoned them to poverty and humiliation.
On Sunday, November 30, 2025, dozens of Iranian cities were swept by a new wave of nationwide protests. People from every corner of society—workers, retirees, fraud victims, contractors, social-service employees, students, and sailors—took to the streets in anger at a system that has pushed them into poverty, uncertainty, and despair. Though their specific demands varied, the root cause connecting all of them was unmistakable: a political structure that has produced mass impoverishment, rampant corruption, and decades of unanswered grievances.
South Khorasan: “Owning a house is a crime in this country”
In South Khorasan, victims of the “Mousavi land” scandal held their 30th consecutive protest, despite winning their case in court and receiving official enforcement orders. Still denied their property rights, they shouted:
“Having a home in this country is a crime—laws apply only to the poor while the regime’s insiders do whatever they want.”
Their words captured a widespread sentiment: justice in Iran is reserved for the powerful.
Retirees rise up from Tehran to Ahvaz, Isfahan, and Kermanshah
Tehran – Teachers and Retirees
Retired educators first gathered outside the Plan and Budget Organization and later the parliament, demanding proper implementation of the ranking law. Many pointed to decades spent serving society, only to retire into poverty:
Their dignity, they said, has yet to be honored.
Ahvaz – Social Security Retirees
Retirees in Ahvaz protested outside the Social Security headquarters, denouncing soaring inflation and collapsing purchasing power:
“Bread is expensive, fuel is expensive, medicine is expensive… we can’t afford even a bite of bread!”
“Only the streets will give us our rights!”
“Our enemy is right here—they lie when they say it’s America!”
Isfahan – Steel Retirees
Steel retirees gathered outside the provincial government building chanting:
“Enough injustice! We cannot survive like this.”
Kermanshah – Social Security Retirees
In Kermanshah, retirees demanded affordable food, healthcare, insurance, and basic dignity:
“Bread expensive, medicine expensive; the government has become our enemy.”
Welfare Organization employees: Providers forced into poverty
Employees of the Welfare Organization—the very institution meant to safeguard society’s vulnerable—joined the protests themselves. One staff member with 17 years of service declared:
“My salary is 16.8 million tomans. You cannot live on this.”
These workers emphasized that despite high-skill responsibilities, they are trapped in worsening economic hardship.
Workers across Iran: Factories on the brink
Shush – Middle East Sugar Factory
Workers staged their second day of protests, demanding months of unpaid wages:
“Our patience is over. We will continue until our rights are restored.”
Bandar Abbas – Madkoosh Steel
Madkoosh Steel workers went on strike over unpaid salaries and months of missing insurance contributions.
Hormozgan Shipbuilding – ISOICO
At ISOICO shipbuilding, anger peaked as workers protested six months of unpaid insurance and four months of delayed wages. One worker said:
“This is open theft—officials simply watch.”
Khuzestan: Contractors and public-sector employees demand answers
In Ahvaz, contractors from the School Renovation Organization protested outside the governor’s office. Their demonstration added to ongoing unrest among medical staff and other provincial employees, all asking the same question:
“Will anyone hear the voices of Khuzestan’s workers?”
In Shush, retirees marched through the streets chanting:
“We’ll fight, we’ll die, but we’ll get our rights!”
“Leave Lebanon alone—deal with our hunger!”
“Our table is empty—what more do you want from us?”
Their slogans condemned the regime’s diversion of resources to foreign militias while Iranians go hungry.
Yazd: The abandoned dream of housing
In Yazd, National Housing applicants protested extreme delays and years of false promises, trapped in uncertainty while prices soar beyond reach.
KingMoney scandal: 4,100 victims, €170 million lost
Victims of the KingMoney investment fraud gathered outside the Supreme Court. One protester said:
“We lost our savings, but not our unity. The people will not give up.”
Abadan: Sailors and boatmen protest “shadow-made decisions”
In the coastal district of Chavibdeh in Abadan, sailors and boat owners protested the suspension of cargo clearance and the indifference of officials:
“Policies made behind tinted glass bring today’s injustice.”
The protests of November 30, 2025 revealed a hard truth: poverty, corruption, and mismanagement have hollowed out Iranian society so deeply that nearly every sector is now in revolt. The gap between the people and the state grows wider each day, and the message from the streets is clearer than ever:
In this system, rights are not granted—they must be fought for.
