Prince Reza Pahlavi Tells Protesting Truckers: Power Is in Your Hands

Prince Reza Pahlavi, addressing the striking truckers, said: Power is in your hands, you are on the right path.

Truckers and heavy vehicle drivers began their strike on Monday, May 19. The strike started in Bandar Abbas and spread to cities including Ardabil, Isfahan, Borujerd, Bandar Imam, Bam, Darab, Zarand, Kerman, Saveh, Semnan, Shahinshahr, Mashhad, Yazd, Ilam, and Qazvin.

Throughout this strike until today, Saturday, May 24, police forces clashed with protesting drivers in Sirjan who were striking. The drivers announced that they will continue the strike until authorities provide clear and practical responses to their demands.

The Union of Truckers and Drivers Organizations across Iran issued a statement saying: “We are striking because we demand our rights. Diesel fuel rations have been reduced, insurance has become expensive, freight charges are low, and other occupational demands remain unfulfilled. We stand together because unity is the only force that can turn this wheel in our favor. Today from the heart of Lorestan to the soil of Khuzestan, from southern ports to northern roads, trucks are silent but the voice of drivers resonates louder than ever across the country.”

Prince Reza Pahlavi also supported the truckers’ strike by posting a message on social media: “Your demands are just and your strike is the right step on the right path. By stopping the wheels of transportation, you have revealed a clear truth. Power is in your hands and when this power transforms into national solidarity, it can change the destiny of a nation.”

He continued in his message: “You, as one of the vital economic pillars of the country, by protesting against unfair working and living conditions, speak for the shared pain of millions of Iranians who have been crushed under injustice, incompetence, and corruption for years. Our pain is a shared national pain and when we stand together, the victory of a national revolution will be near.”

Prince Reza concluded his message by writing: “Today the trucker, baker, teacher, nurse, merchant, manufacturer, refinery worker, and retiree are all victims of an occupying, mafia-like, corrupt, and incompetent regime that spends Iran’s resources on Hamas, Hezbollah, Ansarullah, Gasht-e Ershad, internet filtering, and suppression, and squanders people’s wealth in tribute to criminals like Raisi, Khomeini, Haniyeh, and Nasrallah.”