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Iran’s Mounting Pressures, Regime Fears, And the Role of Resistance Units
The Iranian regime continues to hold the institutions of state power, but that fact alone does not resolve the deeper question of its domestic stability. Four years after the September 2022 uprising and only months after another nationwide protest wave in January 2026, the authorities continue to treat the prospect of renewed unrest as a serious security concern.
That concern was visible again around the fourth anniversary of the 2022 uprising. On September 15, 2026, amid heightened security measures, PMOI Resistance Units carried out projections, graffiti, poster campaigns, and other public activities in cities including Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kermanshah, Karaj, Kerman, Hamedan, and Kashan. This is while State Security Forces chief Ahmadreza Radan had spoken of pursuing and arresting PMOI members to create fear in society.
This is a clear indication that while the regime is using violence to suppress protests, the political and social pressures that produced previous uprisings have not disappeared.
The scale of Iran’s economic deterioration helps explain why officials remain sensitive to renewed unrest. In the past months, the rial fell from around one million to more than 2.2 million to the U.S. dollar. In September, official 12-month average inflation stood at 69.9%, unemployment had risen to 9.1%, and an average monthly salary of approximately $125 was far below estimated basic household spending of around $450.
From “Finger on the Trigger” to “No to Executions”: Iran’s Prisons Become Centers of Resistance
Iran’s regime is escalating its language of threats and intimidation as it seeks to deter renewed unrest. Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei has repeatedly defended executions and demanded that those accused of opposing the regime be rapidly identified, prosecuted, and punished. Police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan has likewise warned that security forces are “finger on the trigger” and will not hesitate to arrest opponents. Yet inside Iran’s prisons, where repression is at its most concentrated, another message is emerging: fear has not produced submission. The continuing expansion of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign offers one of the clearest examples. What began as a prison-based protest has developed into a sustained campaign involving prisoners in dozens of facilities across Iran. In its 138th week, the campaign was being maintained in 62 prisons.
The contrast is striking. While officials publicly threaten harsher punishment to deter dissent, prisoners repeatedly use the limited space available to them to challenge executions and express solidarity with political resistance.
Tehran’s Efforts to Circumvent the Economic Blockade
Tehran’s efforts to circumvent the naval blockade through land and air routes have failed. Iran’s regime had promised to shift more trade through land borders, but the plan is not progressing as expected.
Hundreds of Iranian truck drivers are stranded at the Iran-Pakistan border and are unable to deliver their cargo into the neighboring country. They complain of administrative obstacles and rising costs, many of which they say are caused by the actions of the Iranian government. Similar conditions are being seen at the borders with Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, disrupting trade along the few routes that remain available.
The drivers say several tons of apricots have spoiled during these delays. Profitable shipments of iron ore, cement, and liquefied gas have also been stuck at entry points along the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Wages in Iran Are No Longer Enough to Make Ends Meet
The gap between workers’ wages and living costs in Iran has reached a point where even receiving their full salaries on time no longer covers a family’s food needs. A married worker with one child earns less than 250 million rials (approximately $107), while the minimum cost of living has exceeded 920 million rials (approximately $392), and the prices of food, medicine, housing, and transportation continue to rise rapidly.
As purchasing power collapses, many workers in the mining, railway, oil, and manufacturing sectors do not even receive these inadequate wages on time. Months-long salary delays, unpaid insurance contributions, loss of healthcare coverage, subcontracting arrangements, and the constant threat of layoffs have become a routine part of life for millions of workers and their families.
Gatherings and protests over the past week, from Sirjan and Rasht to Ahvaz and Isfahan, show that the labor crisis is no longer limited to one company, contractor, or province. Workers and retirees have taken to the streets to demand their wages, insurance coverage, and legally mandated benefits, while the government has failed even to fulfill its promise to review wage adjustments in the second half of the year.
CENTCOM: Iran’s Regime Has No Control Over Strait of Hormuz
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is continuing, and traffic along this strategic route has increased in recent months.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, September 16, CENTCOM said that thousands of commercial vessels and nearly one billion barrels of oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent months. The US military command emphasized that Iran’s regime has no control over this international waterway and that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to shipping and global trade.
The US Central Command also accused Iran’s regime of attempting, at various times, to create an atmosphere of intimidation and insecurity along this maritime route through actions against civilian ship crews.
These remarks come as Iranian regime officials have repeatedly claimed in recent months that they control and dominate the route used by ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington, however, has rejected these claims and previously stated that US forces have played a significant role in ensuring the safe passage of hundreds of commercial vessels and the transport of hundreds of millions of barrels of oil through the waterway.
Iran: Escalating Repression of the Arab Minority in 2026
Since the nationwide protests of December 2025- January 2026, Khuzestan Province has witnessed one of the most extensive waves of repression targeting Arab citizens in recent years. The evidence documented in this report indicates that the scope of this repression extends well beyond political activists and has included cultural activists, Sunni citizens, women, adolescents, and individuals engaged in peaceful religious or social activities. The killing of Arab citizens during security operations, widespread arrests, prolonged detention in Ministry of Intelligence facilities, denial of effective access to legal representation, the withholding of information from families regarding the fate and whereabouts of detainees, allegations of torture, collective trials, and the imposition of severe sentences collectively paint a deeply concerning picture of the human rights situation affecting Iran’s Arab minority.
These developments have occurred despite Articles 15 and 19 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which affirm equality among citizens and recognize the cultural and linguistic rights of ethnic communities. Iran is also bound by Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the rights of ethnic and religious minorities to enjoy their culture, practice their religion, and use their language.
Iranian Media Report Growing Disputes Over US Talks, State TV and Hardline Attacks on Senior Officials
Disputes over negotiations, the management of state television and hardline attacks on senior officials have brought divisions within the Islamic Republic’s political establishment into public view.
Differences among Iran’s ruling factions over how to deal with the United States, the consequences of war and the role of state media have become more public. In recent days, media outlets close to different currents within the Islamic Republic have reported on hardline attacks against the heads of the three branches of government, criticism from conservative media of the government’s negotiating policy, and President Masoud Pezeshkian’s confrontation with the management of state broadcaster IRIB.
These tensions are emerging as Islamic Republic officials stress the need to preserve domestic unity in the face of foreign military and economic pressure. However, material published by Iranian media indicates that disagreements over how to confront the United States and manage the political environment after the war have also spread into state institutions.
Paris Exhibit Spotlighting Iran Executions Urges Accountability for Human Rights Abuses
Paris, France – September 16, 2026 – Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a book table and photo exhibition in Paris to condemn the severe human rights violations in Iran, including death sentences in general and especially the execution of political prisoners and protesters arrested during Iran’s nationwide uprisings.
Organizers said the event reflected the Iranian people’s demand for a democratic republic and their aspirations for peace, freedom, justice, and fundamental rights. They also highlighted the Iranian Resistance’s call for greater international solidarity with the people of Iran.
The organizers urged the French public and the international community to recognize the suffering of Iranians and their rejection of dictatorship in both monarchical and theocratic forms.
Photographs, personal testimonies, and other materials showcased the courage and sacrifices of those who took part in the January 2026 uprising. The exhibition also drew attention to what organizers described as the Iranian regime’s ongoing human rights violations, including executions of political prisoners and the continued imprisonment of protesters.
Gothenburg Rally Supports 138th Week of “No to Execution Tuesdays” in 62 Prisons Across Iran
Gothenburg, Sweden — September 15, 2026: Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) held a rally in solidarity with the 138th consecutive week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, a movement protesting the Iranian regime’s escalating executions and systematic repression.
Participants also highlighted the regime’s intensifying crackdown, the rising number of executions, and broader repressive measures. They chanted slogans such as “Down with the executioner regime” and called for the immediate release of all political prisoners.
Freedom-loving Iranians in Gothenburg expressed support for Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and her call to expand the “No to Executions” campaign globally.