Numerous cities across Iran are witnessing protests & strikes by people from all walks of life
As truck drivers throughout Iran continue their new round of nationwide strikes on Friday, marking the third consecutive day, reports indicate people from all walks of life are holding protest rallies against the mullahs’ regime.
The truck drivers’ strike has reached 35 cities in 18 provinces across Iran.
Iranian opposition President Maryam Rajavi has called on all of the country’s youths to provide substantial and spiritual support to the truckers and their families, and international organizations and drivers/workers unions to voice their support for the strike of Iran’s hardworking truckers.
Hail to #Iran’s truck drivers who have started their fourth round of nationwide strike. In addition to their basic rights, they are also demanding freedom of their imprisoned colleagues. #FreeIran2018— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) November 2, 2018
Andimeshk – Oil Company drivers on strike
Andimeshk, southwest Iran
A number of medical sciences students at Tehran’s Open University held two rallies in their school’s main building and outside the regime’s Majlis (parliament) expressing their outrage over their current conditions.
Tehran Open University students protesting
In Behbahan, southwest Iran, youths held a rally on Friday at the city’s prayer sermon, protesting not being hired by the local refinery. A group of the participants in the refinery tests rallied once again protesting the authorities’ policy of not hiring locals and hiring non-locals and providing cheaper salaries
Behbahan, southwest Iran
Students of the Chabahar Naval University rallied on Saturday, protesting the school officials’ incompetence. The students are extremely angry at the status of the schools’ food services.
Chahbahar, southern Iran
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On Friday, truck drivers across Iran showed their continued determination through the second day of strikes in cities across the country. The truckers are continuing their protests at a time when Iranian regime authorities are resorting to various measures of pressure and threats aiming to prevent all such protests, especially in such an organized manner.
A number of drivers have been summoned to their local judiciary offices, reports indicate.
The Iranian Resistance calls on all of Iran’s youth to support the truckers in their protests and nationwide strike. International labor unions should condemn the Iranian regime’s repressive measures and voice their support for the drivers’ protests.
Hail to #Iran’s truck drivers who have started their fourth round of nationwide strike. In addition to their basic rights, they are also demanding freedom of their imprisoned colleagues. #FreeIran2018
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) November 2, 2018
Truckers in cities across Iran are launching a new round of strikes, protesting not receiving answers to their demands and seeking the release of their arrested colleagues.
In Najafabad, central Iran, truckers are on strike according to a previously made announcement encouraging all drivers to park their vehicles and launch a nationwide protest movement.
One driver says heavy trucks cannot be see on the Isfahan road, indicating all drivers are joining force to send a message to the authorities.
One truck driver says heavy trucks cannot be seen on the Isfahan road
Truck drivers launching a 4th nationwide strike
Najafabad, central Iran, truck drivers are on strike
Truck drivers across Iran were steadfast on their nationwide strike in their last round for 21 consecutive days back in early October.
Reports indicated regime officials in the Ministry of Road & Construction being forced to give in to one of the truckers demands. Transfer fees on loads inside the country will be based on the ton/kilometers standard demanded by the drivers.
This paying system had been one of the protesting drivers’ main demands during the past three weeks in their protest movement.
Sources in the cities of Yazd and Sabzevar reported truckers not backing down on their demands despite various deceptive measures by authorities.
Protesting drivers were also seen rallying on the highway from Sabzevar to Mashhad in northeast Iran. They were seen stopping truckers on the road and having them join their strike.
Authorities dispatched the police and took repressive action against the protesting truck drivers. However, the drivers relentlessly continued their rally and protest at the scene.
Reports indicate this protest movement continuing in various cities including Isfahan, Zarrin Shahr, Rumeshgan, Kermanshah, Shahr-e Kord, and Sirjan.
A significant portion of the steel production line in Mobarakeh of Isfahan Province in central Iran has closed down as a result of the truckers’ strike.
The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the mullahs’ intelligence apparatus are concerned over this initiative expanding to other branches of Iran’s already powder keg society. Taking measures to prevent this very possible expansion, the IRGC and other regime entities are sending out threatening messages in social media.
In other developments, the drivers’ syndicate in Denmark, with 50,000 members, have announced their solidarity with Iranian trucker drivers’ strike.
Iran’s hardworking truck drivers continued their nationwide strike, marking the 19th consecutive day on Thursday.
Truck drivers in the cities of Ardabil (northwest Iran) and Mobarakeh (central) held rallies at the local loading stations, protesting skyrocketing prices for spare parts and low paychecks.
During Wednesday’s protests, drivers and truck owners in Isfahan’s New Shapur district held a protest march outside the loading station’s city office.
Truckers in Isfahan, central Iran, were rallying early Wednesday morning, seeking answers to their rightful demands, including an increase in their paychecks and authorities providing the spare parts they need.
Truck drivers protest against the policies of the regime of the high cost of spare parts and tires
Truck drivers in Zarrin Shahr near Isfahan also held a protest rally in one of the city’s squares.
In the city of Mobarakeh, truckers were seen rallying outside the mayor’s office.
Truck drivers in Isfahan protest against the high cost of spare parts and tires and low transportation fees
Truck drivers hold a banner that reads the high cost of spare parts are breaking the backs of the drivers
Truck drivers gather to protest the high cost of spare parts
Deutsche Welle has covered the continuing strike, emphasizing more truck drivers have been arrested and face “severe punishment.” Prior to this reports also showed store-owners launching a strike in dozens of cities in solidarity with the truckers. Authorities had dispatched a high number of security forces in fear of strikes turning into protests.
Truck drivers protest in Mobarakeh, the suburb of Isfahan
On Tuesday, head of the judiciary in Kermanshah Province, western Iran, said ten individuals had been arrested on charges of “disturbing” the truck drivers.
“Severe measures will be taken against the suspects if these measures continue,” said Mohammad Reza Edalatkhah, according to the state-run ILNA news agency. He also warned those “disrupting the roads” to stop their actions.
Truck drivers protest in Isfahan suburb, Mobarakeh
“If anyone causes any disturbances, such as throwing rocks that may result in the driver wielding off the road or be hurt, and if, God forbid, the driver loses his life, this can be considered as an act of murder for the individual hurling the rock,” he added.
Mohsen Karami, a caretaker of the Qazvin prosecutor’s office in northwest Iran, said 17 individuals had been arrested in this province, adding they had “assaulted” the truck drivers.
“Based on our duty, we will be requesting the utmost punishment for these individuals. If they are found to be guilty of moharebeh (war against God), they will be facing severe punishment, such as execution… Most of these incidents are considered psychological warfare aimed at disrupting the country’s peace while there are no such protests in reality.”
Following the truckers’ protest movement, the mullahs’ regime has been forced to transfer fuel with the rail network.
In an attempt to save face, head of the Oil Products Distribution Department in Fars Province of south-central Iran said in this regard, “Transferring fuel with tanker trucks is very dangerous. That is why in this province we have decided to transfer these oil products with trains.”
Other protests include:
The farmers in Varzaneh, Shatur, and Ziar, east of Isfahan province gathered on Thursday to protest to scarcity of water and lack of access to water resources, among other demands.
Farmers in Varzaneh, Shatur and Ziar, gathered to protest to the scarcity of water
The problem of access to water has become a focus of tension between the regime and the people of Isfahan, where agriculture is one the main sources of employment and income for its citizens. The Iranian regime has historically failed to manage water resources in Isfahan and other provinces.
Another problem is the disproportionate building of dams and water channels, which is mainly orchestrated by the Revolutionary Guards. The IRGC uses its vast financial and political power to use Iran’s water resources to its own benefit. The IRGC specifically builds dams to cater to its own institutions and companies. As a result, the farmers of Isfahan, who depend on the province's water resources to irrigate their lands, are taking the hit.
The mismanagement of water resources has not only resulted in economic damage to farmers but has also caused an environmental crisis in different parts of Iran. This is evident not only in Isfahan, but also in other provinces, such as Khuzestan, where severe dust storms have become a norm, and in Azerbaijan, north of Iran, where Lake Urmia, Iran’s largest salt lake, has lost most of its capacity in recent years.
This is not the first time that the farmers of Isfahan are protesting against the corruption of the Iranian regime. At the beginning of the year, Isfahan farmers staged similar protests and demonstrations that lasted for more than two months. Like many other protests that are happening across Iran in recent months, the slogans of the demonstrations have not only been directed at economic woes but also at the regime in its entirety and are calling for regime change.
The Iranian regime tries to lay the blame on foreign countries, but for the farmers of Isfahan, who have been living under the tyranny of the mullahs for the past four decades, there’s no question as to who is to blame for their daily miseries.
