THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 05:30 PM CET
Iranian MP: 7.5 Million Illiterate in the Country
“We have seven and a half million illiterate people in the country,” said Mehdi Ismaili, chairman of the Iranian parliament’s education and technology committee, according to the state-run Mehr News Agency on December 28.
Iran: People Rent Seats on Bus to Sleep at Nights
The state-run Tejarat News website published a shocking report on Wednesday, about people renting seats on buses to sleep at night.
“120,000 to 250,000 rials is the cost of a night’s sleep on the bus in Tehran. Many sleep on buses instead of renting a house. Of course, this is not easy. They have to change buses at least five times until the morning and endure the cold for a few minutes between each time they get off and on a bus,” Tejarat News wrote.
“Sleeping on the bus is their only solution. For them, a seat on the bus is like a cheap home in the capital. But, this so-called cheap house costs them between roughly 3,600,000 to 7,500,000 rials per month. These people have jobs, but their salaries do not allow them to rent a room in Tehran.”
UPDATE: 11:30 AM CET
Iran: The Average Salary of Teachers is Half the Poverty Line
The state-run Hamdeli daily on Wednesday acknowledged the regime’s refusal to “properly implement the teachers’ ranking bill,” while Iranian teachers’ salary is “half of the poverty line” of 12 million tomans, and they endure “unbearable living and economic pressures.”
On Tuesday, Iranian retired teachers held nationwide protests, demanding their basic rights.
MEK Supporters Hold Rally Simultaneous with Nuclear Talks in Vienna
On Tuesday, members of the Iranian diaspora, supporters of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) organization, held a rally in Vienna where talks to revive the highly flawed nuclear deal continued. The Tuesday nuclear talks marked the beginning of eight rounds of futile talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal that did not fully control Tehran’s clandestine nuclear program.
The MEK supporters called for a firm policy vis-a-vis the ruling theocracy in Iran and echoed the desire of their compatriots inside Iran for regime change.
UPDATE: 08:30 AM CET
If We Don’t Take Kicking of Mullahs’ Turban Serious, We Should Wait for Worse
A video circulating on Iran’s social media on Tuesday, showed a brave Iranian woman attacking a mullah who harasses her. In reaction, Hossain Ebrahimi, one of the regime’s former MPs, warned officials of “worse” actions to come.
“We should blame ourselves for [the mullahs’] turban being kicked in public. This is the result of our poor performance. If we don’t take this threat seriously, we should wait for worse actions to come,” he wrote on Twitter.
State Media: Ebrahim Raisi Has Only Given Iran’s People Empty Promises
“After four months of Raisi’s presidency, people’s lives have not improved,” the state-run Mardom Salari daily writes.
“There has been no significant change to improve the people’s livelihoods… and to control prices,” Mardom Salari adds.
“The term Raisi uses the most is ‘must,’ which has had no positive outcome” “Presently, the prices are increasing by the hour, and the price of the family product basket has reached 120 million rials.” “And this is in conditions where a large part of the population isn’t even earning 50 million rials per month.”
Retired Iranian Teachers Hold Protest Rallies in Multiple Cities
Teachers gathered in several cities across Iran on Tuesday to protest low pensions, poor living conditions, and the regime’s refusal to address their basic needs. Protests were reported in Tehran, Hamedan, Zanjan, Qom, Ardebil, Shiraz, Sanandaj, Shahrekord, and other cities.
Iran: Coronavirus Fatalities Surpass 493,000
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) announced on Tuesday, December 28, 2021, that the COVID-19 death toll in 547 cities is more than 493,000. In Tehran fatalities have reached 115,310, Khorasan Razavi 39,820, Isfahan 34,055, Khuzestan 29,815, Mazandaran 17,915, Kerman 13,277, Kermanshah 9,209, and Hamedan 9,138.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – December 28, 2021