THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET
Iran Uprising at a Glance – Day 178
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Sunday, March 12, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
- Days: 178
- Protests: 282 cities
- Fatalities: 750+ estimated deaths, 664 identified by MEK
- Detentions: 30,000
Iran’s nationwide uprising is witnessing its 178th day with protests reported in different cities by people from various sectors of society. Anger is escalating among the Iranian public as economic woes are making it extremely difficult to make ends meet, especially less than ten days prior to Nowruz, the Iranian new year.
March 12 – Isfahan, central #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the local steel company are protesting delayed pensions, calling for higher wages, and equality among all retirees.#IranProtests2023 pic.twitter.com/7LqKB6422K— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 12, 2023
Retirees and pensioners in the cities of Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Shush, and Kerman, rallied today, protesting low pensions, and poor insurance plans, and seeking wage adjustments based on skyrocketing prices and increasing inflation.
March 12 – Tehran, #Iran
Investors in the Azvico auto company (shareholders include the IRGC) are rallying and seeking answers to their long-raised demands after being left in limbo for so long.#IranProtests2023#اعتراضات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/LVi8XWjWmh— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 12, 2023
Pensioners and retirees are among the worst-hit segments of society. They depend on government stipends to make ends meet, but the regime has refused to increase pensions in correspondence with growing inflation and the depreciation of the national currency.
March 12 – Tehran, #Iran
Workers of government-associated sites are protesting the regime's refusal to increase their paychecks, in violation of their own laws, and voicing their grievances over their economic woes.#IranProtests2023 pic.twitter.com/PlErtgQ1wx— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 12, 2023
The government has long made hollow promises of increasing pensions. It was also supposed to settle unpaid pensions remaining from previous years. So far, it has yet to deliver on both demands.
Interestingly, the regime’s own media reported that The Social Security Investment Company (SHASTA), the financial institution that is supposed to fund retirees, has seen a significant increase in revenues in past years. However, this has yet to materialize in the lives of pensioners and retirees.
March 12 – Ahvaz, southwest #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the Social Security Organization protesting and calling for higher wages and equality among all retirees.#IranProtests2023pic.twitter.com/YhhPoiYkER— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 12, 2023
Similar protest rallies were held on Sunday by retired steelworkers in Isfahan, central Iran, and nurses in Qazvin, northwest Iran.
Workers of government agencies held a gathering in Tehran on Sunday morning protesting the regime’s refusal to increase their paychecks, in violation of current laws and voiced their grievances over economic woes.
March 12 – Kermanshah, western #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the Social Security Organization protesting and calling for higher wages and equality among all retirees.
"Let go of Syria, think about us!"#IranProtests2023pic.twitter.com/iJH37BhxbG— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 12, 2023
In other reports from the country’s capital, investors in the Azvico auto company (shareholders include the IRGC) are rallying today and seeking answers to their long-raised demands after being left in limbo for so long.
March 12 – Kerman, south-central #Iran
Retirees and pensioners of the Social Security Organization are protesting poverty, inflation, and high prices.#IranProtests2023pic.twitter.com/nn3CLJ5d6d— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 12, 2023
Last night people in Tehran’s Shahrak-e Bagheri and other districts chanted anti-regime slogans, including:
“Khamenei is a murderer! His rule is illegitimate!”
“Death to Khamenei! Damned be Khomeini!”
“Death to the girl-killing regime!”
March 12 – Isfahan, central #Iran
More footage of retirees and pensioners of the local steel company protesting delayed pensions, calling for higher wages, and equality among all retirees.
"Enough with promises! We have nothing to eat!"#IranProtests2023pic.twitter.com/m4TK0H6KuV— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 12, 2023
UPDATE: 7:30 PM CET
Death Toll Update | Clashes Renew Between Two Groups of Iran-backed Local Militias Leaving Four Kil-led
Aleppo province: Armed clashes have renewed between two groups of Iran-backed local militias of the “Omran Family” and “Zaghir Family”, due to disputes over a truck carrying drugs in Nobl city in northern Aleppo countryside, where three people of the Zaghir Family were killed in the clashes. It is worth noting that the clashes have remained intermittent since yesterday. Accordingly, the number of people killed in the renewed clashes between groups of the Iran-backed local militias has risen to four people in Nobl city.
Earlier today, SOHR sources reported growing tension in Nebl town, inhabited by residents of Shiite community, in the northern countryside of Aleppo, because of violent clashes between two Iranian-backed local groups. The clashes followed a dispute over smuggling operations between Nebl and Afrin which is controlled by the “National Army.”
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET
Washington Summit in Support of Iran Uprising, for a Free and Democratic Republic of Iran
On Saturday, March 11, 2023, Mike Pence, the former Vice President of the United States, participated in a gathering of freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance in Washington, D.C., where he delivered a speech. Maryam Rajavi also delivered a virtual speech to the gathering, which was held in support of the Iranian people’s uprising and their aspiration for a democratic and free republic.
Notable political figures, including Senator Sam Brownback, General Wesley Clark, Governor Gary Luck, and Senator Robert Torricelli, as well as a multitude of supporters of the Iranian Resistance from the Iranian-American community, attended the event.
Iran Revolution Continues With Protests by Baluchis, Other Sectors
Iran’s courageous Balochis are continuing the country’s protests against the mullahs’ regime with their weekly campaign of relentless demonstrations against the ruling theocracy. Baloch protesters were in the streets again on Friday in the city of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan & Baluchestan Province, chanting against any form of dictatorship that has been oppressing the Iranian people for decades.
People throughout the country are specifically holding the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responsible for their miseries, while also condemning the oppressive the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij units, alongside other security units that are on the ground suppressing the peaceful demonstrators.
Pence Warns Renewed Iran Deal Would Pave Path to Nuclear Weapon ‘In Gold’ for Regime
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday spoke to Iranian anti-regime activists in Washington, D.C., and warned that the Biden administration’s efforts to re-enter the embattled 2015 nuclear deal would pave a path “in gold” to a nuclear weapon.
Pence spoke at an event held in the nation’s capital by the Organization of Iranian-American Communities, which calls for a democratic, secular, non-nuclear Iranian republic, and hailed the Trump administration’s maximum pressure policy toward the regime in Tehran.
Ahead of Pence, NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi said that the situation in Iran would never return to how it was before the uprising.
“The regime has become weaker and faces more defections,” she said. “It cannot prevent the explosive situation, because that needs fundamental reforms, which will in turn lead to the regime’s overthrow.”
Pence warns renewed Iran deal would pave path to nuclear weapon 'in gold' for regime | Fox News https://t.co/OjM8f95L3X
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) March 11, 2023
Former Vice President Mike Pence Spoke on Saturday at Iranian Freedom Event
The Organization of Iranian American Communities hosted a 2023 bipartisan summit Saturday with several politicians including former Vice President Mike Pence to discuss the nationwide freedom uprising occurring in Iran. Hundreds of Iranian American community leaders from across the United States attended the policy summit in solidarity with the Iranian people and their enduring uprising,” OIAC wrote in a statement.
President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran Maryam Rajavi gave remarks as well.
“The Iranian people fully understand that the monarchy in Iran has always been a manifestation of fascism,” Rajavi said in her speech. “During Shah, all freedom fighters were either imprisoned or executed, which enabled the mullahs to hijack the leadership of the revolution.”
“Today the Iranian people are fully aware that they must distance themselves from all forms of dictatorship,” she later said.
Proud to support the brave Iranians fighting for their freedom. US policy should do the same, not appease the mullahs. As Tehran loses its grip on the country, US should support breakaway provinces who want freedom. @iran_policy #IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/7kYCNWkRb3
— Sam Brownback (@SamuelBrownback) March 11, 2023
IWD2023 – Paying Tribute to the Courage of Iranian Women in Their Struggle for Freedom and Equality
IWD2023 – Paying tribute to the courage of Iranian women in their struggle for freedom and equality
The NCRI Women’s Committee sponsored a magnificent conference in Brussels on Saturday, March 4, 2023, to honor International Women’s Day. The conference entitled, “Onward to a Democratic Republic, Iranian Women Leading the Way,” featured dozens of prominent female policymakers, former ministers, experts, and rights activists. PMOI women at Ashraf-3, Albania, joined the conference online, and two addressed it.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – March 11, 2023