After more than 40 years of the clerical regime’s devastating policies, Iran has become a stage for a nationwide confrontation between the people and the ruling mullahs. In the past week, cities and villages across the country have echoed with the rightful cries of a populace demanding the most basic necessities of life, turning public spaces into arenas of defiance against systemic mismanagement and corruption.
Nationwide anger over crippling utility failures
A severe crisis in water and electricity supply has ignited a wave of furious protests across Iran. On Wednesday, a large crowd of angry residents in Rasht gathered in Sabzeh Meydan square, chanting, “Water, electricity, life, are our undeniable rights.” Fearing the protest would spread, the regime’s repressive police forces on motorcycles charged the crowd but were met with brave and determined resistance from the people.
August 6—Rasht, northern Iran
Residents rally at Sabzeh Meydan to protest constant and prolonged electricity and water outages and the regime's lack of mitigation measures.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/ukMKpylRWc— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) August 7, 2025
The unrest was not limited to Rasht. In Shahrekord on Saturday, industrialists protested in front of an industrial complex, stating that frequent power cuts have brought production to a standstill and jeopardized the jobs of hundreds of workers. On Sunday night, residents of Nurabad (Mamasani) in Fars province also took to the streets over power outages, resisting attempts by security forces to disperse them. On Monday, the cities of Fereydunkenar and Babolsar saw similar widespread demonstrations.
In Zabol, where temperatures soared to a blistering 50 degrees Celsius, residents protested long hours of blackouts on Wednesday. The regime’s corruption has created such dire conditions that even in the water-rich northern regions, residents are facing shortages. On Tuesday, villagers in Taze Kand, West Azerbaijan, protested the lack of drinking water, while in Sanandaj, shopkeepers at the Tanakura market protested against disruptive power cuts.
August 6—Zabol, southeast Iran
Locals rally in front of the electricity department to protest against prolonged power outages amidst extreme heat, with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/cOz964jTcv— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) August 6, 2025
Retirees and workers lead protests against economic plight
The nation’s retirees continued their weekly protests against poverty and plundered pensions. On Sunday in Isfahan, mining and steel retirees gathered, chanting, “We are all together, we have not asked for anything but our rights.” That same day in Khuzestan, retirees rallied in front of the Social Security Organization, connecting their economic struggles to the national crisis by chanting, “Water, electricity, life, are our undeniable rights.”
In Tehran, educators who retired in 2021 protested in front of the regime’s parliament, chanting the poignant slogan, “Oh prosperous Iran, what has become of you?” In Rasht, retirees sang the patriotic anthem ‘Ey Iran’ to voice their dissent.
August 3—Isfahan, central Iran
Protest by retirees of the steel and mining sector, demanding higher pensions and access to basic services.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/MVtVWoeuYS— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) August 3, 2025
Simultaneously, key sectors of Iran’s economy were rocked by coordinated strikes. On Sunday, oil employees in Ahvaz held a major protest over working conditions, part of a nationwide action over the regime’s failure to address their demands. The protest included workers from the 40 platforms of the Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC), the South Pars Gas Complex (SPGC), several refineries, and the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone. Families of oil workers in Jam, Bushehr province, also held a rally in solidarity.
For the third consecutive day, hardworking truck drivers rallied in front of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade in Tehran, protesting the regime’s failure to release trucks for which they have already paid. They chanted, “Drivers rather die than accept humiliation.” In other actions, hundreds of truckers went on strike on the Babaei Expressway over a lack of diesel quotas, and nearly 200 fuel tankers at the Rimdan border broke through a gate in a collective act of defiance after being stranded for days.
July 21—Tehran, Iran
Protest by truck drivers in front of the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade, against the regime's policy of detaining their trucks in customs for two years, and their confiscation in favor of the government.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/g9nLcX9eT3— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 21, 2025
Protests against state corruption and repression continue
Citizens defrauded by state-run housing projects also held protests. In the new city of Amirkabir, applicants for a 608-unit project protested the non-delivery of their homes. They revealed that while they were initially told to pay 7.5 billion rials, the regime is now demanding over 20 billion rials, even though the project is only 7% complete. Similar protests against delays and cost hikes took place in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province and in Rasht.
Amid the social and economic unrest, the political campaign “No to Execution Tuesdays” continued to be a loud voice against the regime’s killing machine. On Tuesday, justice-seeking families in dozens of cities, including Rasht, Karaj, Saqqez, Shiraz, Sanandaj, Isfahan, Tabriz, and Mashhad, installed posters with messages like, “Political prisoners must be freed,” “This is the final message: if you execute, there will be an uprising”, and “Our screams are louder than your gallows.”
August 5—Iran
Families of death row prisoners hold rallies in support of the "No to Executions Tuesdays" campaign in its 80th week.#IranProtests#نه_به_اعدام pic.twitter.com/MRlqZUTRjr— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) August 5, 2025
The wave of protests also swept through other professional sectors. In Konarak, Sistan and Baluchestan province, nurses at the local hospital went on strike over 10 months of unpaid wages. In Fars province, livestock farmers held a large rally protesting the lack of feed imports and government price-fixing, chanting, “The bankrupt farmer has no more strength.” In Tehran, contract employees of high-voltage power substations also rallied in front of the Ministry of Energy to protest their poor living and working conditions.