A fresh wave of protests has swept across Iran in early June 2025, highlighting the severe economic distress and growing frustration among various segments of the population. From heavy machinery operators crippled by fuel cuts to essential service workers demanding job security and local communities fighting for their livelihoods and environment, the demonstrations underscore the Iranian regime’s deepening failure to address basic needs and manage the nation’s resources.
On June 7, heavy machinery operators in Shahrekord, western Iran, gathered in front of the provincial governor’s office. Their protest targeted the debilitating cut in their fuel quotas, a measure reportedly in effect since February-March 2025. The demonstrators demanded urgent attention to their plight, emphasizing that the allocation of sufficient fuel is critical for them to continue their work and sustain their livelihoods.
Also on June 7, in Khuzestan, southwest Iran, water supply workers from the Water and Wastewater Company assembled before their provincial governor’s office. Their key demands included the implementation of a job classification plan and guarantees of job security, pointing to the precarious employment conditions faced even by those in essential public services.
June 7—Shahrekord, western Iran
Heavy machinery operators gathered in front of the provincial governor's office to protest the cut in their fuel quotas, which has been in effect since February-March 2025. Protesters demand urgent attention to their livelihood and the allocation… pic.twitter.com/ikAJl4kN6R— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 7, 2025
Meanwhile, reports from June 6 indicated that a protest by local workers in the Jafir area, near Ahvaz, had entered its fifteenth consecutive day. These workers gathered at the entrance of the Hoveyzeh Gas Refinery, a major facility in Iran’s oil, gas, and petrochemical sector, demanding to be re-hired and given employment contracts.
The protesting workers stated that despite years of experience, the company had refused to renew their contracts or offer new ones, providing no response to their demands. One worker articulated their frustration, stating, “We are local forces from the region and have worked in this complex for years. Now we expect the company to re-hire us under equal conditions and based on the principle of justice. Justice is achieved when locals are not deprived of job opportunities in a complex operating in the heart of their homeland.”
This protracted demonstration occurs in a region, Khuzestan province, already grappling with chronic unemployment, despite its significant natural resource wealth. The Hoveizeh Gas Refinery has reportedly made no official statement regarding the protest.
June 7—Khuzestan, southwest Iran
Water supply workers from the Water and Wastewater Company gather in front of their provincial governor's office, demanding the implementation of the job classification plan and job security. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/GNU68Rhla3— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 7, 2025
The discontent is not limited to employment and direct economic factors. On June 6, in Alavijeh, central Iran, residents formed a human chain and held a rally to voice their strong opposition to the destruction of mountains and natural resources caused by mining activities. Their determined stance signals a growing public concern over environmental degradation driven by unchecked industrial pursuits.
Further illustrating the breadth of labor unrest, workers of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company in Siri, southern Iran, resumed protests on June 6. Their demands are extensive, calling for full wage payments, the removal of retirement caps, complete seniority benefits, the enforcement of Article 10 with back pay, and crucial protections for their pension fund against potential merging with bankrupt funds. These recurring protests in the vital oil sector indicate deep-seated and unresolved grievances concerning fundamental workers’ rights and financial security.
On June 6 in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, a separate environmental protest broke out as residents—many from the long-exiled Kurdish population of the Hazarmasjed region—rallied against a controversial water transfer project. Civil and environmental activists warned that the plan would devastate the region’s fragile ecology and force mass displacement. Protesters noted that even Mashhad University’s own research teams had acknowledged the project’s long-term harm to regional water sustainability. These events, ranging from labor unrest to environmental defense and border violence, reflect a population confronting the regime’s extractive policies from multiple fronts.
In Bushehr, on June 3, local boat owners clashed with security forces during a protest against new restrictions on small-scale trade known as “teh-lenji.” The demonstrators decried harsh economic policies and prolonged bans on shipping operations, with one shouting, “Our boats have been idle for 16 months—we have nothing left to eat!”
June 6—Alavijeh, central Iran
Residents formed a human chain and held a rally, voicing their opposition to the destruction of mountains and natural resources by mining activities.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/m2bAXfdCjQ— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 7, 2025
Meanwhile, in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, reports from June 2 and 3 indicated that at least three Baluch fuel porters were killed or wounded following deadly confrontations with security forces near the towns of Bam and Sirik. These incidents sparked outrage over the regime’s ongoing violent crackdown on marginalized border communities.
These diverse protests are not isolated incidents but rather symptomatic of what observers describe as “widespread crises in the political and economic structure of the regime; from structural corruption in resource distribution to disregard for workers’ rights and rampant destruction of nature.”
The regime’s economic policies, such as the fuel quota cuts directly impacting livelihoods in Shahrekord, coupled with its failure to ensure job security in places like Khuzestan and Jafir, or protect workers’ earnings in Siri, paint a stark picture. The public’s willingness to openly challenge environmentally destructive projects, as seen in Alavijeh, further adds to the narrative of a populace increasingly pushed to its limits. The convergence of these grievances suggests that the regime’s chronic mismanagement and neglect are fueling a potent and widespread popular anger, signaling a system failing to meet the Iranian people’s most basic economic and social needs.