A potent wave of protests swept across Iran on June 1st, underscoring the profound economic crisis and growing public discontent with the ruling regime. The nationwide strike by truck drivers, now in its eleventh day and spanning at least 155 cities across all 31 provinces, formed the spearhead of these demonstrations, crippling key transportation arteries and galvanizing support from various struggling sectors of Iranian society.
The strike’s impact was palpable: the cargo terminal parking lot in Tehran remained conspicuously empty, while reports and images from freight terminals and major routes in cities including Arak (specifically the Arak to Tehran road), Bandar Imam, Khorramabad, Golpayegan, Tamarchin, Bashmaq, Sarakhs, Charmahin, Zahedan, Mashhad, Sabzevar, and Isfahan depicted a near-total standstill of truck activity, with parking lots filled with striking vehicles.
This powerful display of unity was further amplified as taxi drivers in cities such as Sabzevar and Arak joined the striking truck drivers, broadening the transportation community’s united front.
Truck drivers have emphasized that the regime’s attempts at suppression, including the arrest of nine colleagues in Bijar, have only served to strengthen their resolve and unity. Their primary demand is the immediate and unconditional release of all detained colleagues. Their courageous stand has garnered significant support, with the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company issuing a statement backing the strike and condemning the arrests and threats against the drivers.
June 1—Karaj, northern Iran
Strike by truck drivers in Fardis, Karaj, protesting against poor working conditions, lack of fuel, and imposed overloading by construction contractors.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/AW9J5Y79dT— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 1, 2025
The regime’s response has been a mixture of intimidation and hollow promises. Reports from Thursday indicated that at freight terminals in Mobarakeh and Shahpur in Isfahan, drivers refusing to load cargo were threatened with the invalidation of “all their documents,” service cut-offs, and the direct opening of judicial cases against them. Simultaneously, regime officials offered placatory statements.
Reza Rostami, head of the Transportation Commission of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, vaguely promised that drivers’ concerns about social security insurance would be “re-evaluated within a week.” Abbas Soufi, a member of the regime’s Parliament Urban Development Commission, admitted that “freight tariffs haven’t been updated for years” and that “current insurance premiums are unaffordable,” while reporting the drafting of a double-urgency plan to address drivers’ demands.
More footage of protests by retirees of the Social Security Organization in Ahvaz.
Protesters chant "The imprisoned truck driver must be freed" and "The imprisoned protester must be freed" in support of other protesting communities.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/yx2hRkOB0z— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 1, 2025
The grievances of the truck drivers resonated across numerous other sectors. On June 1st, retirees from the Social Security Organization held rallies in Shush, Ahvaz, and Tehran, protesting their meager pensions and the skyrocketing cost of living. In Ahvaz, the retirees showed powerful solidarity, chanting, “The imprisoned truck driver must be freed” and “The imprisoned protester must be freed,” directly linking their struggle with that of the striking truckers and bakers who have protested in recent weeks.
Similarly, retirees from the steel and mining industry resumed their weekly protests in Isfahan and Kerman over poor living conditions and unpaid pensions. Demonstrators in Isfahan voiced a particularly pointed accusation, chanting, “Reduce one [government] embezzlement, solve our problem,” and “Shout for your rights.”
June 1—Gachsaran, southwest Iran
Contract workers of the Gachsaran Oil and Gas Company hold protest rally, demanding the elimination of intermediary contracting companies, direct employment contracts, and an end to workplace discrimination.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/066Z32FTL1— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 1, 2025
Workers also voiced their deep frustrations. In Gachsaran, contract workers from the Gachsaran Oil and Gas Company held a protest rally demanding the elimination of intermediary contracting companies, direct employment contracts, and an end to workplace discrimination, highlighting wage disparities and poor working conditions. In Tabriz, workers at CNG fueling stations went on strike over unpaid wages. Truck drivers in Fardis, Karaj, also held a strike, protesting poor working conditions, lack of fuel, and imposed overloading by construction contractors.
Further protests included boat owners in Bushehr, southern Iran, who demonstrated against regime restrictions on small-scale maritime trade, a vital economic activity for the region. They gathered outside the Ports and Maritime Organization and the city’s customs exit, demanding clarity on their financial claims. In Tehran, candidates of the 52nd Medical Residency Exam protested widespread irregularities, lack of transparency, and unrealistic exam results.
June 1—Bushehr, southern Iran
Boat owners protest the regime putting restrictions on small-scale maritime trade, which has been a significant economic activity for the region.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/2PaaSarR7t— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 1, 2025
The regime’s anxiety over the escalating protests was betrayed by Reza Nouri, the Friday prayer leader of Bojnourd, who stated on May 30, 2025: “There is talk of the truck drivers, talk of the bakeries… our enemies are trying to turn a small dispute into a riot.” This admission highlights the regime’s fear that these widespread, economically-driven grievances could coalesce into a more significant challenge to its authority.
During the Free Iran conference on May 31, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), addressed the situation, stating, “For the past ten days, hardworking truck drivers have gone on strike. Their outcry against injustice is loud. They are the voice of millions of laborers who this regime has plundered.” She called for broad public support for the striking drivers and demanded the immediate release of those arrested, further noting the regime’s oppressive nature by highlighting that “Just during the term of [Masoud] Pezeshkian, 1,275 people were executed, and in (the month of) Ordibehesht alone, 170 executions took place. Yet despite all the arrests and crackdowns, Iranian cities are scenes of daily protests and strikes.”
The confluence of these nationwide strikes and protests on June 1st paints a clear picture of a populace pushed to the brink by a regime whose corruption and mismanagement have led to severe economic hardship. The resilience of the truck drivers and the solidarity expressed by various other protesting groups signal a deepening and widening dissatisfaction. As Mrs. Rajavi concluded, “The day is not far when the smoldering anger of the Iranian people ignites into a well-organized uprising, led by resistance units, and turns the dynasty of this oppressive regime into ashes.”