Widespread protests in various Iranian cities over power outages
Residents of various Iranian cities from the north to the center of the country protested against frequent power outages in front of electricity departments in these cities on Monday evening, July 4th.
Videos of protest rallies by residents of the cities of Babol, Babolsar, Amol, Ghaemshahr, Shahr-e Ray, Shiraz, and Kazerun have been posted on social media, some of which are accompanied by slogans against government officials of the Islamic Republic. Among them, protesters chanted slogans against the Shahr-e Ray Electricity Department, "Incompetent minister, resign, resign."
Another video has also been released from the city of Shiraz during the silence, in which protesters chant slogans against Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic. These slogans include "Death to the dictator" and "Death to Khamenei."
The same thing happened in Tehran on Sunday evening, and images of protests by residents of the capital were published on social media, showing protesters silently chanting slogans against Khamenei from their windows.
Throughout Monday, news agencies inside Iran published reports of protest rallies in front of electricity departments in the cities of Kordkoy, Bandar Gaz, Bandar Turkman, and Aqqala, indicating the widespread nature of the protests, especially in the northern cities of the country.
Protesters say that their home's electricity is cut off three or four times a day, for at least two hours each time, and that frequent power outages have caused many problems, including water shortages in apartments, spoilage of meat, poultry, and other items in the refrigerator, and burning of household appliances.
A video has also been released from a hospital's ICU ward, in which a person explains that the emergency power generators are not up to the task of the ward's devices, which is considered an additional threat to patients.
Meanwhile, the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor announced the judiciary's involvement in the frequent power outages and said that an order has been issued to follow up on the matter through relevant authorities in the electricity sector.
Ali Al-Qasi Mehr said: "A meeting was held at the Tehran Governor's Office today (Monday, July 4) regarding the frequent power outages, and we instructed our deputy in charge of pursuing public rights to follow up on the issue through the relevant authorities in the electricity sector."
He also responded to the question of whether there was any negligence in the issue of frequent power outages, saying only that "the matter is being investigated."
Since last month, power outages have disrupted the daily lives of many citizens in Iran.
These problems include disruptions in the work of offices and small workshops, hundreds of people getting stuck in elevators, traffic disruptions, citizens' household appliances breaking down, the defeat of the country's chess champions in global online competitions, and the possibility of the loss of corona vaccines in health centers.
Officials have cited the worsening drought and the rapid increase in the number of agricultural wells as other reasons for the power shortage in recent days in Iran. However, in January of last year, after widespread power outages in several cities, it was announced that Bitcoin mining and its heavy pressure on the country's power grid were the main causes of this incident.
Source: Radio Farda
