A powerful wave of labor unrest is sweeping across Iran’s vital industrial and energy sectors, laying bare the profound economic incompetence and systemic corruption of the ruling clerical regime. On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, coordinated protests by steel workers in Ahvaz, energy sector contractors in Asaluyeh, and transport drivers in Chabahar painted a vivid picture of a nation pushed to its limits. These are a unified chorus of dissent against a kleptocracy that has plundered the nation’s wealth and abandoned its workforce.
The Five-Day Uprising of Ahvaz Steel Workers
In the southwestern city of Ahvaz, for the fifth consecutive day, workers of the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group took to the streets. Their protest began at the company’s assembly hall and evolved into a determined march to Baqaee Square, their chants for justice echoing through the city.
The workers’ demands are a stark indictment of the regime’s mismanagement. They are protesting two months of unpaid wages, the lack of adequate supplemental insurance, and the failure to restart critical production lines. The company, which is owned by the state-controlled Bank Melli, is reportedly operating at a catastrophic 10% of its capacity. In response to the growing crisis, the company’s CEO recently issued a letter advising the workers to have “patience,” citing a “lack of liquidity”—a hollow excuse for years of systemic neglect. The workers have warned that if their demands are not met, they will escalate their actions, signaling a new phase of organized defiance.
September 17—Ahvaz, southwest Iran
Workers of the Iran National Steel Industrial Group staged a protest for the fifth consecutive day, demanding immediate payment of unpaid wages, proper supplemental insurance, timely deposits of social security premiums, improvements in… pic.twitter.com/rAD740Knqs— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 17, 2025
Cynical Corruption Exposed in Asaluyeh
Simultaneously, in Asaluyeh, the heart of Iran’s oil and gas industry, contract workers in the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone held protests to demand an end to their exploitation. Their central demand is the removal of parasitic intermediary contractor firms, which are deeply connected to rent-seeking governmental and quasi-governmental entities. These workers are fighting for direct employment contracts and an end to the severe pay discrimination they face compared to official employees.
The Asaluyeh protests have exposed a particularly cynical layer of the regime’s corruption. While contract workers fight for their basic rights, reports have emerged that high-paid official managers are staging their own fraudulent “protests” to demand raises for their already astronomical salaries, aiming for an increase to 150 million tomans. In a grotesque act of deception, they have used images of the genuinely struggling contract workers to add legitimacy to their own greedy demands. This duplicity is perfectly captured by the workers’ powerful slogan: “In the name of the worker, to the benefit of the managers!”
September 17—Chabahar, southeast Iran
A group of protesting taxi drivers gathered in front of the governor’s office in Chabahar to voice their objection to the cutting of their fuel quotas.
The drivers say this decision has not only disrupted their daily lives and livelihoods but… pic.twitter.com/0900NgJSmH— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 17, 2025
Daily Livelihoods Under Siege in Chabahar
The unrest extends beyond heavy industry, demonstrating how the regime’s destructive policies are crippling the daily lives of ordinary citizens. In the strategic port city of Chabahar, taxi drivers gathered in front of the governor’s office to protest the regime’s decision to cut their fuel quotas. This move has not only paralyzed their ability to earn a living but also threatens to bring the city’s public transportation system to a halt, placing further pressure on an already exhausted populace.
The protests in Ahvaz, Asaluyeh, and Chabahar are not separate labor disputes; they are interconnected expressions of a nation’s outrage against a bankrupt and morally corrupt system. From the looted factories of Khuzestan to the exploited energy fields on the Persian Gulf, the Iranian people are showing increasing resolve. Their demands are no longer just for overdue wages but for a fundamental change to a system that prioritizes the enrichment of a select few over the well-being of millions. This growing wave of dissent is a clear challenge to the regime’s authority and a testament to the Iranian people’s unyielding quest for freedom and justice.