Protests and strikes have intensified across Iran this week, with workers, retirees, nurses, and students taking to the streets to denounce the regime’s plunder of national wealth, rampant inflation, and the suppression of basic rights. From the steel mills of the south to the university campuses of Tehran, the chants of the people reflect a society that sees street protests as the only avenue to reclaim their stolen rights.
On Saturday, December 13, a significant number of workers at the Pasargad Steel Complex in Kavar stopped work and joined a strike. The workers are protesting grueling living conditions, unjust discrimination in the workplace, and the regime’s failure to pay their overdue benefits.
The crisis in the industrial sector is widespread. In the past week, workers of the Islamshahr Metro launched a strike after not receiving their wages for five months. Meanwhile, tragedy struck at the Khusf Cast Iron Factory, where workers gathered at the main gate to express their outrage following the death of a fifth colleague. The workers blamed the fatality on the lack of transportation services, highlighting the disregard for workers’ safety and lives.
On Sunday, December 14, in Zanjan, laid-off workers of the Kooshkan Transformer Company held another rally in the presence of Ministry of Energy representatives, protesting the non-renewal of their contracts despite years of service. Similar cries for justice were heard at the Zarshuran Gold Mine in Takab, where employees protested wage discrimination and unpaid claims. In Kermanshah, municipal workers who have gone unpaid for four months rallied outside the provincial governorate.
December 14—Khosf, northeast Iran
Workers at the Khosf cast-iron factory rallied after a fifth colleague died in a traffic accident, protesting unsafe conditions and demanding accountability and concrete measures to protect workers and prevent further fatalities.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/dKL6RaZDQZ— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 14, 2025
Retirees: “Our tables are empty”
A major wave of protests by retirees swept through multiple cities on Saturday, December 13, and Sunday, December 14. In Kermanshah, retirees whose livelihoods have been decimated by the regime’s policies marched with slogans such as “With this empty table, we are still protesting” and “Both the parliament and the government lie to the nation.” They also called for the release of detained protesters.
In Shush, retirees displayed their resolve with chants of “We fight, we die, we claim our rights.” In Isfahan, steel pensioners gathered under the banner of “Unity against oppression and corruption.” In Ahvaz, the economic desperation was palpable as protesters chanted, “Bread is expensive, medicine is expensive… we long for a bite of bread.” By Sunday, Social Security retirees in Tehran joined the movement, gathering to shout, “Neither the parliament nor the government cares about the nation.”
December 14—Ahvaz, southwest Iran
Social Security Organization retirees rallied outside the provincial office over poverty and unprecedented price hikes, repression, and systemic corruption—saying livelihoods are left to the regime's looters. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/xQJaVjqQvr— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 14, 2025
Healthcare workers and students join the fray
The regime’s mismanagement has also hit the service and healthcare sectors hard. On Saturday, December 13, bakers in Ahvaz protested cuts to flour quotas. On Wednesday, December 17, nurses in Golestan province rallied outside the governor’s office to protest nine months of unpaid wages. Nurses in Sanandaj also gathered to condemn their deplorable working conditions.
Simultaneously, unrest has returned to the universities. At Tehran University, students protested anti-student policies and the monetization of education. Chanting “Hardworking student, shout for your rights” and “The dormitory has become a ruin,” they highlighted the crumbling infrastructure and the high cost of basic services like food and housing, asserting that welfare is their right, not a privilege to be sold.
December 17—Gorgan, northern Iran
Nurses rallied outside the Golestan University of Medical Sciences and the Governor’s Office over unpaid wages and mounting cost-of-living pressures. They say 9 months of arrears remain and only 50% of May claims were paid, vowing to keep… pic.twitter.com/mq4Gt71BD0— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 17, 2025