Iran’s economic crisis drives protests despite repression
Economic hardship, unpaid pensions and soaring prices are fuelling protests by workers, retirees, students and other groups across Iran.
Retirees, nurses, workers, teachers and students have held protests and sit-ins across Iran since summer, according to a report by France 24, as unpaid wages and pensions, unemployment and rising prices deepen economic hardship.
The university professors’ syndicate warned on 9 September that academics would not attend the new academic year, beginning on 23 September, unless the government fulfilled its economic commitments and increased salaries. A director of Iran’s retirement syndicate said on 7 September that some government pensions had gone unpaid for five months.
The report cited estimates that annual inflation reached 80 per cent in August, with food prices rising by about 130 per cent. It also said at least 40 per cent of Iranians were below the absolute poverty line and another 40 per cent were at risk of falling below it.
Accounts gathered by France 24 described businesses closing, savings being sold to cover essentials and pensioners returning to work. The report attributed the deterioration to the war, longstanding sanctions, mismanagement and corruption. It also cited Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s claim that a US naval blockade had reduced trade by 35 per cent.
The protests are taking place amid intensified security risks. The Iran Human Rights Group, cited by France 24, said at least 54 prisoners had been executed for political reasons over the preceding eight months, including 31 protesters. The report also said arrested demonstrators faced severe sentences, including death sentences.
