Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, Oct. 1, 2018 – The truck drivers’ nationwide strike has continued into the ninth consecutive day on Monday, Oct 1st reaching hundreds of cities nationwide.
More than 120 protesting truck drivers have been arrested, and the regime’s judiciary officials and Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are continuously resorting to threats of arrests and executions. The brave truck drivers are refusing to succumb to these measures and the protest strike continues.
Starting on September 22nd the protest strike has spread to more than 258 cities in all 31 provinces to this day. The drivers are protesting low paychecks, skyrocketing spare parts prices and hollow promises provided by the mullahs’ officials and authorities.
On Sunday, truck drivers across Iran marked their eighth consecutive day on strike. Understanding the highly dangerous potential of this massive protest movement, Iranian regime attorney general Mohammad Ali Montazeri resorted to threatening the truck drivers.
“Based on our information, there are individuals seen in various paths of some cities, provoking truck drivers and causing problems for them during their commuting. These individuals will be considered criminals and thieves, and they will be punished according to the law. In some cases, it will lead to their execution,” he said in remarks aired by the mullahs’ state TV on Saturday.
Ali Alqasi-Mehr, judiciary chief in Fars Province of south-central Iran, accused the protesting truck drivers of “corruption on earth.”
Mohammad Sharafi, a high ranking state-police official, also resorted to voicing serious threats against the truck drivers, according to state-TV.
On Thursday, a road and transportation official of Fars Province ridiculously claimed the truck drivers’ strike is nothing but rumors.
“There have been rumors for the past few days, spread in various outlets and social media, claiming truck drivers are on strike. This is nothing but dissidents taking advantage of the drivers’ needs in order to create a crisis in our country and their methods are quite obvious for all Iranians,” the official said as cited by the state-run Fars news agency.
IRGC Colonel Kavos Mohammadi, a police force deputy of the Fars provincial, described the protesting truck drivers as "disrupters of order."
“Following the disrupting acts of some of these people on the roads of Fars Province… 22 thugs and disrupters of public order were arrested and, after filing a case, they were sent to judiciary authorities and eventually placed behind bars. Police will deal with sensitivity and vigilance with the smallest insecurity factors in coordination with the judiciary, and the process of confronting with disrupters of order and road security in Fars Province will continue on a daily basis. The police monitor and control all the roads in this province and resolutely deal with all individuals disrupting order and security in these areas,” he added in remarks wired by the state-run IRNA news agency.
Iranian opposition President Maryam Rajavi hailed the protesting truckers across Iran, describing the regime’s vindictive threats against the dignified and hardworking drivers as a reflection of the clerical regime’s escalating crisis.
They neither wish nor can respond to legitimate demands raised by the protesting truck drivers, Rajavi added. She called on all human rights organizations to take action aimed at releasing those arrested truck drivers and urged the general public, especially the youth, to support the protesting drivers.
The realization of the truckers’ demands is only possible with the establishment of democracy and people's sovereignty, Rajavi concluded, adding a regime that threatens to execute its working people due to a strike must be rejected by the international community.
The cities of Tehran, Ardabil, Mashkat, Fouladshahr, Mobarakeh, Mehrshahr Karaj, Tabriz, Shahr-e Kord, Quchan, Neyshabur, Zanjan, Naqqadeh, Kangavar, Lushan, Borujerd, Neka, Sari, Bandar Abbas, Malayer, Saleh Abad and others witnessed more truckers joining this nationwide strike.
On Saturday, protesting truck drivers in Neyshabur were seen forcing members of the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) to flee the scene.
