A Shared Outcry Against Discrimination, Injustice and Corruption: 26 Protests Across the Country

8 September 2025
News Group: Protests – Ethnic Minorities – Pensioners – Workers and Guilds –

Breathing in Confinement – At least 26 demonstrations and protest actions were held by various groups of people across Iran.

According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran:

• Shopkeepers in Semirom went on strike to protest the execution of political prisoner Mehran Bahramian.

• Telecommunications retirees in Rasht, Sanandaj, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Bijar, Khorramabad, and Shahr-e Kord staged protests. They objected to exploitation by the Executive Headquarters and the IRGC Cooperative Foundation, disregard for Bylaw 24/89, and non-payment of their entitlements. Protesters chanted:
  “Mobin Trust of the IRGC has stolen our rights,”
  “Telecom abandoned, captured by bullies,”
  “Major shareholders, shame on you,”
  “We won’t stop until we take our rights,”
  “Neither Parliament nor Government care for the people,”
  “Major shareholders have stolen our rights.”

• Workers of South Pars Gas Complex (Refineries 2 and 5, Assaluyeh Site 1 and Kangan Site 2), POGC platform employees (40 platforms), and employees of the Oil and Gas Operating Company in Aghajari, Lavan and Assaluyeh Special Zone protested unpaid wages, discriminatory pay, and disregard for their demands. They called for: full implementation of operational zone allowances, removal of the salary cap, full payment of end-of-service benefits, cancellation of illegal pension deductions, refund of unlawfully withheld taxes, and implementation of Article 10 of the Ministry of Oil’s duties and authorities. Contract workers of the National Iranian Drilling Company in Ahvaz also gathered, demanding permanent employment status and the elimination of intermediary contractors.

• Retirees of the IRIB (State Broadcasting) staged a protest over poor living conditions and the unfulfilled promise of a 50% salary increase.

• Workers of Pouya Nakh Company gathered in front of the Governor’s Office to protest unpaid wages, job insecurity, and repeated shutdowns of the factory.

• Workers of Iran Aluminium Company (IRALCO) in Arak continued their strike for the 41st consecutive day. They protested unpaid wages, failure to implement the job classification scheme, violation of their rights, and mismanagement of the factory.

• Defrauded customers of Ramak Khodro Company gathered in Tehran to protest the non-enforcement of judicial rulings, nine years of uncertainty regarding their investments, and behind-the-scenes protection of the company. They chanted: “Ramak Khodro relies on whom?”

• Qashqai citizens in Shiraz staged a protest against distortion of their identity and insults towards the Qashqai community. Likewise, Lur citizens protested outside the Governor’s Office against the “insult to the authentic Lur culture” in the television series Suvashun, demanding the broadcast be stopped and the series banned.

• Residents of Laleh Abad, Babol gathered in front of the local Water Department to protest the water crisis.

• Victims of the Shafagh, Morvarid, and Negin Gharb construction projects protested on Keshavarz Boulevard in Tehran and in front of the Judiciary’s central headquarters, demanding compensation for their losses and the restoration of their violated rights.