Discontent across Iran deepened this week as new labor and social protests erupted from the oil sector in Ahvaz to bakeries in Mashhad, highlighting widespread anger over unpaid wages, broken promises, and what protesters call systemic economic injustice under the clerical dictatorship.
In Mashhad, hundreds of bakers marched toward the provincial governor’s office on Wednesday, October 8, chanting slogans condemning “the theft of bread.” Demonstrators said they have gone three months without receiving the government subsidies that are supposed to offset regulated bread prices.
“We have heard promises from every level, from the governor to the minister,” one baker shouted, “but no money has been paid.” Protesters held up signs blaming officials for “passing responsibility from one office to another” while their livelihoods collapsed. Many warned that without subsidies, bakeries across the city faced bankruptcy. “Those who make the people’s bread,” they said, “now have to come to the streets to demand their own.”
October 8—Tabriz, northwest Iran
Workers of the Motogen company continued their strike for a second day, protesting ongoing injustice and unfair treatment by management. Their frustration has reached a breaking point.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/QZqFSLtNYk— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 8, 2025
At the same time in Ahvaz, retired and active oil workers from the National Iranian South Oilfields Company gathered near the main security gate to denounce unpaid benefits and privatization policies. They carried banners reading “Employees and retirees, rise up against oppression and discrimination” and “Stop the humiliation.” Workers accused officials of turning the Oil Pension Fund into a “private trust” for insiders, echoing chants such as “The government and parliament have privatized our rights.”
The Ahvaz protest followed a week of growing unrest in the energy sector, where employees from South Pars and other southern oil fields have staged repeated sit-ins over wage delays and contract violations. Similar scenes unfolded last month in Shiraz and Saveh, where refinery and bakery workers also protested unpaid salaries and shrinking subsidies.
October 8—Mashhad, northeast Iran
On the fifth day of their rallies, bakers gathered outside the governor’s office to protest unpaid subsidies and corruption by the Nanino company. “They’ve stolen our bread,” protesters say.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/fTKFw3gUHQ— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 8, 2025
These labor protests come amid a surge of student demonstrations nationwide. Over the past few days, students at Tehran’s Khajeh Nasir University and Bu-Ali University in Hamedan have rallied under slogans like “The student may die but will never bow to humiliation” and “No to corruption, no to repression.” Nursing students in Hamedan have also protested administrative neglect and stalled internship programs.
From the factory floor to the university courtyard, this wave of protest reflects mounting frustration with economic collapse, corruption, and political repression. Each new gathering — whether by bakers, oil workers, or students — adds another voice to a growing national chorus demanding accountability and change.