Continuation of Bazaari Strikes and Gatherings, Pensioners’ Protests in Various Cities

Islamuc Republic officials have consistently identified “market disruptors” as the cause of the dollar price increase in recent years and have arrested individuals under this pretext. At the same time, protest gatherings of social security retirees continued regarding their livelihood situation and low wages in several Iranian cities. Based on videos published on social networks, these retirees held protest gatherings on Tuesday, June 24 in the cities of Kermanshah, Zanjan, Shush, and Ahvaz. The protesters chanted slogans such as “Neither parliament nor government cares about the people,” “100 percent inflation, our share 10 percent” and “Promises and threats are enough, our table is empty.” Social security retirees are demanding an increase in their wages equivalent to the actual cost of living and proportional to the inflation rate, saying that wages were supposed to increase by 38 percent, but according to the government, they will only increase by 10 percent. The social security retirees’ protest, which began about 10 days ago, has been held in various cities in recent days including Tehran, Karaj, Arak, Zanjan, Shush, Ahvaz, Ilam, Shiraz, Yazd, Khorramabad, Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Kerman, Qazvin, Dorud, Bandar Abbas, Shushtar, Tabriz, and Mashhad.