HomeNEWSIRAN NEWSIranian retirees to Raisi: “Your promises were lies!”
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Iranian retirees to Raisi: “Your promises were lies!”

By Mahmoud Hakamian
iran protests retirees august 27 2023
Protest rally by retirees in several Iranian cities—August 27, 2023

Retirees and pensioners of the Iranian regime’s Social Security Organization and steel industry returned to streets in several cities on Sunday to protest the deteriorating conditions of their lives and the regime’s destructive policies. Rallies were reported in Isfahan, Kermanshah, Ahvaz, Karaj, Shush, Shushtar, and Dezful.

In the past few years, retirees across Iran have been protesting their deteriorating living conditions, especially as the government refuses to adjust their pensions based on the inflation rate and fluctuations in the price of the rial, Iran’s national currency. The price of most basic goods have spiked several fold while pensioners continue to receive the same stipends as before.

In Ahvaz, the protesters were chanting, “High prices and inflation are destroying the people’s lives!”

The protesters also mocked regime president Ebrahim Raisi, who had promised to eradicate poverty at the beginning of his presidency. “What happened to the promises of controlling inflation? You’re lying to the people!” they chanted.

Meanwhile, all branches of power are involved in the deteriorating living conditions of retirees, as the Majlis (parliament) and the Judiciary also refuse to take any action to make sure the basic needs of retirees are provided.

In Karaj, the retirees were shouting, “The government commits crimes and the Majlis supports it!”

One of the demands that pensioners and retirees from different sectors are repeatedly raising is the regime neglecting its own laws. According to the regime’s laws, the government is required to provide the basic needs of pensioners. It must adjust pensions according to the costs of living. But while the government dithers and refrains from doing so, other branches of power also refrain from taking any action, further proving that the regime in its entirety is involved in destroying the lives of millions of Iranians.

In Shush, the protesters laid empty tablecloths on the ground as a symbol of their living conditions. “Our tables are empty!” they were shouting.

They also shouted slogans against Raisi’s government and the hollow promises he made to make their lives better.

“The promises sounded good, but they were all lies!” they shouted.

In Kermanshah, the retirees highlighted government corruption as the main source of their miseries.

“Corruption, inflation is destroying people’s lives!” they were chanting.

“We are saying our wages are low, they raise the price of bread,” they also shouted.

The also made it clear in their slogans that they have to take matters into their own hands and the regime will not do anything to meet their demands.

“Rise, retirees, and shout for your rights!” they chanted.

At the same time, the retirees of the steel industry in Isfahan held protest rallies and demanded higher pensions and other basic services.

Also on Sunday, the defrauded customers of the state-backed Caspian investment company held protest rallies, demanding the return of their stolen savings.

Caspian is one of several state-owned or state-backed financial institutions that have stolen billions of dollars from average citizens to fill the pockets of regime officials and fund the regime’s illicit activities.

These companies are either directly owned by regime institutions and banks or are privately owned by individuals with close ties to senior regime officials.

There were several protest rallies in Tehran on Sunday. The nurses and doctors of Milad hospital went on strike and held a protest rally, demanding the payment of their overdue wages.

A group of disabled people held a rally, protesting the regime’s neglect of its own laws. The protesters are demanding the implementation of article 27 of the regime’s law for disabled people, which requires the government to provide the basic needs of disabled people who can’t work and earn their living.

“We’re not demanding favors, we want our rights!” the protesters were chanting.

In Mashhad, members of the bar association of Khorasan Razavi province resume their protest to new legislation by the regime that undermines the independence of lawyers.

The regime’s seventh development plan, which has been approved by the Majlis, effectively makes the justice system a subsidiary of the ministry of economy and destroys whatever vestige of independence system was left in the system. Lawyers across Iran have been holding protest rallies and demanding the revocation of the law.

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