A new wave of protests, spearheaded by Iran’s struggling bakers, erupted in several cities on May 24, 2025, met with the clerical regime’s characteristic response of violent suppression.
In Mashhad, northeast Iran, dozens of bakers gathered in front of the bakers’ union, their voices rising against critical living conditions, rampant inflation, and the government’s empty promises. Chanting “Enough empty promises, our tables are empty,” they later marched towards the provincial governor’s office, only to be confronted by repressive security forces deploying tear gas and batons.
May 24—Mashhad, northeast Iran
Bakers rally in front of the provincial governorate to protest against economic pressures including rising costs and lack of flour subsidies.
"We have nothing left to lose!" one of the protesters chants.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/uo1qh7FoyG— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 24, 2025
The scenes from Mashhad are emblematic of a wider discontent simmering across various sectors of Iranian society, all reeling from the consequences of systemic economic mismanagement and corruption.
The Bakers’ Uprising and Defiance
The confrontation in Mashhad saw protesters defiantly chanting “Disgrace, Disgrace” at the security forces. The bakers articulated their plight with stark clarity. One protesting baker stated, “The government only makes promises. We bake bread out of hunger, but we ourselves have nothing to eat.” Their grievances are extensive: chronic power cuts ruining their dough, non-payment of essential subsidies, skyrocketing production costs, reduced flour quotas, and the prohibitive price of raw materials.
Regime security forces in Mashhad crack down on peaceful rally of bakers calling for basic needs.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/nhhJbLkzKp
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 24, 2025
In a powerful statement, the Mashhad bakers declared their resolve: “We will no longer allow our rightful voice to be silenced by violence. Until our rights are met, we will not cease our protest and outcry. We were beaten with batons, we were hit with tear gas, but we did not back down… We continue to protest because we have nothing to lose.”
This courageous stand was not isolated. On the same day, May 24, bakers in Kerman, southeast Iran, protested in front of the governor’s office, while those in Shahin Shahr and Borujerd gathered before their respective bakers’ unions. Earlier that day, bakers in Arak had also continued their protests against unfulfilled government promises and severe economic problems, similarly facing suppression from security forces.
May 24—Kerman, southeast Iran
Bakers join nationwide protests against economic problems, low flour subsidies, and lack of support from the government.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/eWVKOZuFgj— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 24, 2025
Echoes of Discontent: Truck Drivers and Other Sectors Join the Fray
The bakers’ cries for relief are mirrored by widespread industrial action from other vital sectors. May 24 marked the third day of strikes by truck drivers in multiple cities, including Kazerun, Fasa, Rumeshkan, and Dezful. Truck drivers in Saveh, Darab (at the Cement Terminal), Yazd, and Rafsanjan also joined these nationwide strikes.
Their grievances stem from a crippling combination of high insurance costs, reduced fuel quotas, unprofitably low freight rates, severe price increases for spare parts, and overarching governmental neglect. Drivers in Rumeshkan, western Iran, declared that under current conditions, “working has no economic justification.”
May 24—Iran
Bakers continue protesting unchecked, unfulfilled government promises, and other economic problems in Arak and Mashhad. Instead of responding to their demands, the regime has dispatched security forces to suppress their rally.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/OEBjaQAJZ0— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 24, 2025
The wave of protest on May 24 also included farmers. In Seifabad, Qom, farmers went on strike. In Kazerun, southern Iran, farmers rallied and blocked the main road leading to the governor’s office, protesting low water supplies and the lack of government attention to their plight.
Farmers in Ab Barik, northern Iran, also protested the severe economic pressures they face due to decades of neglect and rising costs. In Tehran, victims of a financial scam involving Ramak Khodro, a state-backed car company, protested after waiting eight years for justice without adequate government action.
The Root Cause: Regime’s Economic Mismanagement and Self-Acknowledged Crisis
The regime’s own media outlets and even parliamentary figures have acknowledged the dire economic situation, particularly the crippling power crisis. On May 23, the state-run Jahan Sanat newspaper reported that “Power cuts in industrial towns have led to widespread worker dissatisfaction… and in some industrial towns, the smell of violent protests can be detected.” The paper warned, “In these times ahead, perhaps appealing for moderation and inviting citizens to cooperate with the government will become a rusty tool that is no longer effective and does not reduce societal inflammation.”
May 24—Fasa, southern Iran
Truck drivers continue strikes and protests over severe price increases in spare parts, fuel shortages, unfair freight rates, high insurance costs, and governmental neglect.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/yjAJsWUpCv— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 24, 2025
Days earlier, on May 21, Ahmad Fatemi, a member of the regime’s parliament, confessed, “Today, bakery problems have become a ‘super challenge’… Why are you not responsive? Regarding repeated power outages and widespread blackouts, I warn; this issue has exhausted the people. It has exhausted production units and industry owners.”
The newspaper Asr Iran wrote on May 18, “Power cuts have turned bakers’ bread into bricks… The baker is forced to throw away soured dough, is accused of selling flour, and his quota is reduced.” The following day, the Etemad newspaper stated, “Power outages have pushed public dissatisfaction to its peak and weakened trust in the government. In most cities, bakers have protested.”
May 24—Rumeshkan, western Iran
Truck drivers on strike, protesting the escalating costs of parts, fuel, insurance, and unfair freight rates. The drivers have declared that in the current conditions, working has no economic justification.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/63TdxQu0Ii— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 24, 2025
Setareh Sobh newspaper, on May 18, provided a stark analysis: “The electricity imbalance is a problem that has reduced the quality of life and welfare, and paralyzed the economy and businesses… We have a 30,000 MW imbalance… The problem is the presence of ‘khosulati’ (quasi-governmental) entities and foundations like Bonyad Shahid… which control large power plants without having expertise or efficiency. This issue has caused us to have only 62,000 MW of actual electricity production out of 95,000 MW capacity, which is a disaster.”
Maryam Rajavi’s Statement: A Unified Struggle for a Stolen Right
Responding to these developments, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), stated on May 24, 2025: “The sheer vileness of Khamenei and his regime is laid bare in their response to the hardworking and honorable bakers: violent crackdowns by repressive security forces, tear gas, and pepper spray.”
She offered “Salutations to the courageous bakers in Mashhad, Shahin Shahr of Isfahan, Borujerd, Kerman, Arak, and other cities who stand firm against the assaults of the regime’s repressive forces.” Mrs. Rajavi emphasized the interconnectedness of these struggles: “They rise alongside other segments of the working class—truck drivers, farmers, teachers, and retirees—in a united struggle for their rightful demands.”
May 24—Ab Barik, northern Iran
Protest by farmers, highlighting the severe economic pressures they face due to decades of neglect and rising costs.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/Xoi5fvaFh5— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 24, 2025
Her statement concluded with a powerful assertion of popular sovereignty: “Sovereignty belongs to the people, a fundamental right stolen by the criminal clerics. But the people of Iran and the Iranian Resistance will not relent until they reclaim it.”
A Regime Failing its People
The courageous stand of Iran’s bakers, met with state-sanctioned violence, serves as a potent symbol of the deepening crisis gripping the nation. Their fight for basic sustenance and dignity, echoed by the widespread strikes of truck drivers and the protests of farmers and other citizens, highlights a growing national disillusionment with a regime that has consistently prioritized its own survival and ideological pursuits over the welfare of its people. The regime’s own admissions of a catastrophic power crisis and economic mismanagement underscore its culpability.
Faced with legitimate grievances, the clerical leadership offers not solutions, but suppression. This unsustainable approach, however, only appears to be steeling the resolve of ordinary Iranians, whose collective outcry for fundamental rights and an end to decades of corruption and misrule grows louder and more unified by the day. The path forward, as articulated by the Iranian opposition, lies in reclaiming the people’s stolen sovereignty.