Small-scale protests break out across Iranian cities as severe economic crisis deepens

Retired educators, telecommunications workers, and job seekers also reportedly demonstrated on Sunday in Tehran, Ahvaz, Shush, Kermanshah, Dezful, and Rasht.

Small-scale protests were held by retired telecommunications workers, retired teachers and job seekers in Tehran and several other Iranian cities as the country continues to face a worsening economic crisis, according to footage published by the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

In Isfahan and Sanandaj on Sunday, retirees reportedly gathered to demand action on the cost of living crisis and pension payments that reflect the cost of living, as required under Article 96 of Iran’s Social Security Law. Many also called for the implementation of Article 111 of the law, which requires pension and disability payments to remain at or above the legal minimum wage.

Iran’s statutory base minimum wage is around 16.6 million tomans (currently equivalent to $1.66 USD, according to Coinbase) a month before benefits, according to Iranian media.

Retired educators, telecommunications workers and job seekers also reportedly demonstrated on Sunday in Tehran, Ahvaz, Shush, Kermanshah, Dezful and Rasht.

On Monday, a group of retirees also reportedly protested in Kermanshah province, demanding action on the cost of living crisis and subsidized medical treatment under Iran’s supplementary insurance policies.

Many Iranians forgoing critical treatments as costs rise

The protests come after DW Persian reported that many people in Iran, including cancer patients, were forgoing or delaying critical treatment as healthcare costs become increasingly unaffordable. The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency also reported that the prices of some medications had risen by 120%, while DW reported that some medications had increased in price by as much as 543%.

The cost of a monthly prescription of four NovoRapid insulin pens, for example, has risen from about 280,000 tomans after insurance reimbursement to roughly 1.1 million tomans, DW reported, citing Iranian physicians.

Though there were no reports of violent suppression at these protests, last week Iran’s security forces opened fire on and beat demonstrators outside the Dabal Khazaei Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company and outside the Lishtar refinery project, according to footage shared by both HRANA and the Karun Human Rights Organization.

Iran's economy continues to struggle with blackouts, water crisis, war

Iran’s economy was already struggling under years of financial mismanagement and sanctions, while the regime’s internet blackout and water crisis, as well as the war with the United States and Israel and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, have further worsened the crisis.

Beni Sabti, an expert on Iran at Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told The Jerusalem Post last week that it was possible that there would be a return to protests at the size and scale of the violently suppressed January demonstrations, especially given that the “Iranian people don’t have many options to survive.”

Human rights groups say that upward of 30,000 demonstrators were killed by the regime’s security forces in January, while Iranian authorities have continued to execute people accused of being involved in the protests, using vague charges like moharebeh (waging war against God).