People’s anger over unemployment, water shortages, repression, and road blockage in Rig-e Malek, Sistan and Baluchestan
On Saturday and Sunday, September 13 and 14, 2025, popular protests against the looting and plundering of the clerical regime spread from Sistan and Baluchestan to Azerbaijan, from Tehran to Bushehr. While the protesting people demand bread, housing, jobs, and clean air, the Iranian regime responds only with repression, deception, and further plunder.
On Saturday, September 13, 2025, for the second consecutive day, the people of Rig-e Malek district in Mirjaveh, Sistan and Baluchestan, protested against the closure of the border. By blocking the main road and setting tires on fire, they declared that no vehicles would be allowed to pass until the border route was reopened. Addressing the regime’s officials, they said: “If you want security, you must find a solution for people’s livelihoods.” The border closure, the destruction of agriculture, and the diversion of water resources have made the people increasingly destitute. The new plan for rationing agricultural fuel has worsened the situation.
On the same day, oil workers of the Offshore Oil Company at the Siri, Lavan, Nasr, and Ilam platforms, along with employees of the Aghajari Oil and Gas Production Company, protested against discrimination and corruption in the regime’s anti-labor employment and retirement structures.
Also on Saturday, September 13, a group of farmers in Tehran gathered in front of the Ministry of Interior building to protest the authorities’ failure to address their demands. On the same day in Ahvaz, workers of the National Iranian Steel Industrial Group gathered in front of the company’s management building to stage a protest.
The protests of the workers of Arak Aluminum Company (IRALCO), one of the largest industrial centers in Iran, entered their 44th day on Sunday, September 14. Agents of the regime have repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempted to break their strike through intimidation and fear. On Sunday, the workers announced that they would continue their hunger strike until Monday and warned that if the promises made were not fulfilled, they would escalate to a dry hunger strike.
On Sunday, September 14, in Kharg Island, Bushehr Province, employees of the Offshore Oil Company went on strike in protest against the non-payment of retirement severance benefits, misappropriation of the pension fund, and the trampling of their rights. Similar protests were held in other refineries and operational platforms of the South Pars gas field.
On Sunday in Tehran as well, multiple protests took place: a gathering of the looted depositors in front of the so-called Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, a protest by Justice Shares employees in front of the Ministry of Labor, and gatherings of rejected applicants for the Ministry of Education’s employment exam in front of the Administrative Court of Justice and the Inspection Organization. The applicants said that out of approximately 500,000 participants, 490,000 were rejected. The aim, they stated, is to replace qualified candidates with Basij members and regime mercenaries.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
15 September 2025