On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, the streets of Asaluyeh, the center of the Iranian regime’s oil and gas wealth, became the stage for a powerful act of defiance. Following 18 consecutive weeks of demonstrations, over 5,000 workers from the South Pars gas complex, joined by their families, held one of the largest and most organized labor protests in the industry’s recent history.
Despite security forces blocking main routes, the determined crowd marched on the governor’s office, their chants echoing the deep-seated anger of a nation pushed to its limit. Slogans like, “Enough empty promises, our tables are empty,” and “Our rightful wages are what we want, we will stand until the last day,” made it clear this was not merely a labor dispute but a direct challenge to the regime’s systemic plunder.
Targeting the real culprit: “the contractor must be eliminated!”
Among the workers’ chants, one slogan stood out for its profound political message: “The contractor must be eliminated!” For those who understand the corrupt structure of Iran’s economy, the term “contractor” is a clear reference to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its vast network of front companies. These entities dominate Iran’s most lucrative sectors, including oil and gas, siphoning the nation’s wealth while exploiting the very workers who produce it.
More footage of the protests by South Pars workers. "Enough with the promises, our tables are empty," protesters chant.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/4AoWXcjoAw
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 9, 2025
The workers’ call for the “elimination” of the contractor is a courageous and direct demand to dismantle the IRGC’s corrupt economic empire, which is the financial backbone of the regime’s domestic repression and foreign terrorism.
A decade of broken promises and inhumane conditions
The rage in Asaluyeh has been building for over a decade, fueled by the contractors’ absolute impunity. Even the state-run newspaper Etemad acknowledged this reality in a January 23, 2023, report titled “The Poverty of Asaluyeh Workers in the World’s Largest Gas Field.” The paper described how these powerful contractors operate as if they are in a separate country, untouchable by law, repeatedly breaking promises made to workers even after interventions by government ministries.
For years, the workers have demanded the full implementation of job classification plans, humane “two weeks on, two weeks off” work schedules, and the payment of overdue wages. Each time, they have been met with hollow promises designed only to temporarily quell the unrest, cementing their distrust in the entire ruling system.
A tinderbox nation: from Asaluyeh to cities across Iran
The Asaluyeh protest is not an isolated event but a powerful symbol of a nation on the verge of explosion. Just one day earlier, on December 8, retired telecommunications workers held coordinated protests in at least eleven cities, including Tehran, Sanandaj, Tabriz, Mashhad, and Ahvaz, chanting against the plunder by institutions directly tied to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
December 8—Hamedan, western Iran
Retirees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) rally, voicing anger over the plunder of public resources by regime-linked institutions. They demand immediate relief for worsening livelihoods.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/vat7vxCBP4— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 8, 2025
Across the country, ordinary citizens are rising up against the unbearable cost of living, skyrocketing prices for basic goods, and the clerical regime’s relentless theft. This synchronized wave of protest from industrial workers, pensioners, and other sectors of society proves that the regime is facing a unified front of popular dissent.
Panic in parliament: regime insider sounds the “alarm bell”
The people’s fury is now so great that its echoes are being heard within the walls of the regime’s own parliament. On the same day as the Asaluyeh protest, Majlis member Najib Hosseini sounded a public “alarm bell,” warning the government of the catastrophic economic crisis.
He openly admitted to the regime’s complete failure, pointing out that economic growth projections were negative, job creation was less than a third of what was promised, and crippling inflation continued to crush the working class. His warning that the situation for farmers and ranchers has “reached an explosion point” confirms that this crisis is nationwide. Such an admission from an insider is a clear sign of the regime’s terror as it stares into the abyss of its own making.
The inevitable confrontation
The brave workers of Asaluyeh have sent an unmistakable message: the Iranian people will no longer be silent as their national wealth is stolen by a corrupt clerical dictatorship and its IRGC thugs. Trapped by decades of failure and corruption, the regime has no solutions, only more repression and more lies. But as the protests grow in size, organization, and boldness, it is clear that neither will suffice. The alarm bells ringing in the Majlis are not for a simple economic downturn; they are for a dying regime. The defiant spirit seen in Asaluyeh and across Iran is the true herald of the country’s future—a future of freedom, reclaimed by its people.