On October 26, 2025, a wave of concurrent protests swept across Iran, offering a stark snapshot of a nation pushed to its breaking point. From retirees demanding their life savings in the south to factory workers fighting for months of unpaid wages in the north, and families pleading for the lives of their loved ones in the capital, the day revealed a unified cry of dissent against the clerical regime’s systemic corruption, economic ruin, and brutal repression. These were not isolated incidents but the synchronized heartbeat of a population refusing to remain silent.
Retirees Demand Dignity, Not Starvation
In cities across the country, the generation that built Iran took to the streets to protest a future of state-imposed poverty. In Shush, Social Security retirees gathered in front of the governor’s office with powerful chants that captured the national mood: “Poverty, inflation, are the bane of our people,” and “Enough with oppression, our tables are empty.” Their resolve was clear in the cry, “We will fight, we will die, we will take back our rights.”
October 26—Shush, southwest Iran
Social Security Organization retirees rallied to protest unbearable living conditions, runaway inflation, and ignored rights.
They chanted: "High prices and inflation have ruined people's lives" and "Enough with the tyranny, our tables are empty"… pic.twitter.com/GeArTMacl6— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 26, 2025
This scene was replicated in Ahvaz, Kermanshah, and Rasht, where retirees protested pensions rendered worthless by hyperinflation and the collapse of healthcare services. In Tehran, retired steel and mine workers rallied outside the parliament to protest the illegal transfer of their pension funds and the government’s failure to adjust their payments to the cost of living. For these citizens, who contributed a lifetime of labor, the regime has offered only broken promises and destitution.
Systemic Plunder: From Unpaid Workers to Collapsing Banks
The regime’s economic crisis is not one of scarcity but of theft. In Zanjan, workers at the Refah chain store protested over three months of unpaid wages and seven months of missing insurance premiums. While the company claims a lack of funds, its stores are full of customers and it holds promotional car raffles—a glaring symbol of a system where profits are funneled to cronies while laborers starve. One worker stated, “We are all minimum-wage earners; even a one-month delay creates many problems, let alone more than three months without pay.”
October 25—Qom, central Iran
Depositors of Bank Shahr rallied to denounce massive corruption and fraud within the bank, accusing regime-linked managers of looting public funds while ignoring citizens’ suffering.
Protesters chanted against banking corruption.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/oTxvVW1Zj3— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 26, 2025
This pattern of exploitation was echoed in Eslamabad-e Gharb, where workers from the Kashi Kazheh tile factory protested for months of delayed salaries. The crisis extends to the entire financial sector, which has become what Iranians call a “swamp of corruption.” In Qom, depositors of Bank Shahr held rallies, joining a long line of citizens whose savings have been plundered by corrupt, state-affiliated institutions like Bank Ayandeh.
The Regime’s Only Answer: Brutality and the Hangman’s Noose
When faced with legitimate grievances, the regime’s default response is violence. In Tehran, while workers and retirees protested for their livelihoods, another desperate group gathered near the parliament: the families of prisoners on death row from Ghezel Hesar Prison. Mothers and wives held signs with a simple, powerful plea: “Don’t Execute!”
October 26—Tehran, Iran
Families of prisoners on death row from Ghezel Hesar Prison gathered near parliament, demanding an end to executions and the release of their loved ones.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/8v7Bhc03eO— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 26, 2025
Among them, a child held a sign that read: “The execution of one person is not the end of a mistake, but the beginning of new suffering for helpless children!” Before their voices could be heard, repressive security forces attacked the peaceful gathering and violently dispersed the families. This brutal reaction mirrors the pre-emptive deployment of security forces at the retirees’ protest in Tehran, revealing a state that views its citizens not as constituents to be served but as enemies to be crushed.
The events of October 26 lay bare the reality of Iran today: a corrupt, bankrupt regime waging war on its own people. The protests are no longer isolated to one sector or region. The struggle of a retiree in Ahvaz is inseparable from that of a factory worker in Zanjan and a mother in Tehran. Together, they expose a government that cannot provide basic economic security, uphold justice, or tolerate even the most peaceful dissent.