In a powerful continuation of nationwide resistance, the past week has seen a surge in protests across Iran, as citizens from all walks of life took to the streets to challenge the clerical regime’s deep-rooted corruption, incompetence, and destructive policies. From Tehran’s hardworking bakers to defrauded housing applicants in Arak and Birjand, and resilient retirees in Rasht, the Iranian people have once again demonstrated their unwavering resolve to achieve freedom and justice.
This weekly roundup of protests, covering events from July 11-14, highlights a populace pushed to the brink by a regime that plunders their wealth and obstructs their progress. The unified message from the streets is one of total rejection of the ruling dictatorship.
A Pattern of Plunder and Betrayal
A significant feature of this week’s protests was the outrage directed at state-sanctioned scams and broken promises. In Arak, applicants for the 8,100-unit Kayson housing project, including families with children, held a nighttime sit-in to protest years of delays after paying their life savings for homes that were never delivered. A similar scene unfolded in Birjand, where applicants for the Zafaraniyeh National Housing project marched to decry the non-delivery of their homes.
This pattern of fraud extends to the regime’s affiliated industries. In Tehran, customers of the state-owned SAIPA automotive company protested after paying up to 7 billion rials months ago, only to receive neither their vehicles nor any clear answers. These incidents reveal a systematic approach to plundering the people’s assets under the guise of national projects.
Workers and Retirees Denounce a Life of Hardship
The backbone of the nation’s workforce and its elders voiced their fury at the dire economic conditions. In Tehran, bakers held protests against the failing government-run “Nanino” system and crippling operational costs. In Rasht, retirees bravely marched, chanting a powerful slogan that encapsulates the spirit of the resistance: “We will not live under oppression; we will sacrifice our lives for freedom.”
This cry for basic rights was echoed by unpaid workers across the country. In Iranshahr, medical staff at the University of Medical Sciences protested three months of unpaid wages and the lack of official contracts. In Shadegan, municipal workers, who have no other source of income, also gathered to demand their overdue salaries.
Grassroots Defiance and Regime Obstruction
In a stunning testament to both the people’s self-reliance and the regime’s malevolence, the community of Alavijeh in Isfahan province protested the authorities’ refusal to allow the opening of a hospital that the residents had built entirely with their own funds. After selling their personal property to fund the project the regime had failed to provide, they are now being actively obstructed by the very government that neglected them.
Meanwhile, the regime’s failure to provide basic services sparked protests in Salehiyeh, where residents gathered at the Water and Wastewater Department to protest 24- to 48-hour water cuts during a scorching summer.
These are not isolated cries of despair but interconnected expressions of a nation’s resolve. The protests across Iran this week underscore a unified rejection of the ruling dictatorship and reaffirm the Iranian people’s commitment to their ongoing struggle for a free and democratic republic.