{"id":340740,"date":"2025-12-22T21:28:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=340740"},"modified":"2025-12-22T21:30:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:30:19","slug":"iran-protests-erupt-across-multiple-provinces-as-official-warns-55-million-face-poverty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/iran-protests-erupt-across-multiple-provinces-as-official-warns-55-million-face-poverty\/","title":{"rendered":"Protests Erupt Across Multiple Provinces in Iran as Official Warns 55 Million Face Poverty"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_340744\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-340744\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-340744\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-saqqez-retirees-protest-22122025.jpg\" alt=\"ITC retirees in Saqqez, western Iran, protested on December 22, 2025\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-saqqez-retirees-protest-22122025.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-saqqez-retirees-protest-22122025-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-saqqez-retirees-protest-22122025-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-saqqez-retirees-protest-22122025-745x420.jpg 745w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-saqqez-retirees-protest-22122025-150x85.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/iran-saqqez-retirees-protest-22122025-696x393.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-340744\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ITC retirees in Saqqez, western Iran, protested on December 22, 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the heels of the winter solstice, traditionally a time of celebration in Iran known as Yalda Night, the country\u2019s deepening economic crisis has sparked a fresh wave of unrest. On Monday, December 22, as citizens grappled with record inflation, a member of the regime\u2019s own parliament issued a stark warning: the majority of the population is sliding into absolute poverty.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">During a public session of the Majlis (parliament), MP Hamidreza Azizi Farsani admitted that inflation has surged from 47 percent to 64 percent. He warned that if the current economic trajectory continues, the population living in poverty will exceed 55 million by the end of the Persian year (March 2026), dragging even the middle class\u2014specifically the eighth decile of society\u2014below the poverty line. Concurrently, the Ministry of Health\u2019s nutrition office warned that soaring food prices are forcing families to remove essential items from their tables, posing a direct threat to public health.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Retirees Target Regime\u2019s Economic Empires<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While officials warned of collapse, retirees from the Telecommunications Company of Iran took to the streets in 14 provinces, including Tehran, Isfahan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Fars, and Khuzestan. The demonstrators directed their anger specifically at the institutions controlling the company: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Execution of Imam Khomeini&#8217;s Order (EIKO or Setad), a massive conglomerate under the direct control of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">December 22\u2014Tehran, Iran<br \/>Retirees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) rallied outside the Ministry of Communications, protesting plunder and oppression by regime-linked bodies and TCI\u2019s rent-seeking owners, citing EIKO and the IRGC. They decried runaway prices and a\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XZUp9T84Em\">pic.twitter.com\/XZUp9T84Em<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; People&#39;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mojahedineng\/status\/2003108738455023743?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Tehran, protesters gathered outside the Ministry of Communications. One retiree, reflecting the sombre mood of the nation, spoke to the crowd about the stark reality of their holiday season: &#8220;This Yalda night was empty for the majority of people. With this destroyed economy and the government\u2019s incompetence, people have nothing left to lose.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Significantly, the chants on Monday rejected the regime\u2019s traditional scapegoats. &#8220;We can no longer say &#8216;Death to the dollar seller&#8217; or &#8216;Death to the egg seller&#8217;; the culprit is elsewhere,&#8221; the retiree declared. &#8220;Why should we say Death to America or England? Today, people know exactly where the problem lies.&#8221; The crowd responded with chants of &#8220;Death to the deceitful government&#8221; and &#8220;Incompetent Parliament, Unjust Judiciary.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">December 22\u2014Hamedan, western Iran<br \/>Retirees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) rallied to protest plunder and injustice by regime-linked institutions and TCI\u2019s rent-seeking owners, demanding urgent action on unpaid rights and long-standing claims.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranProtests<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EtlC4dZAPH\">pic.twitter.com\/EtlC4dZAPH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; People&#39;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mojahedineng\/status\/2003111795964420114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;Where Does Our Money Go?&#8221;: Labor Suppression<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The unrest extended beyond retirees to the industrial workforce. In Lorestan province, 400 to 500 railway maintenance workers in the Dorud area entered their third day of strikes on December 22. Their grievance highlights a systemic form of wage theft: the contractor, Traverse, deducts money from workers&#8217; paychecks for supplementary insurance and store installments but fails to remit these funds to the insurers or shops. As a result, workers seeking medical care are turned away, and those attempting to buy goods on credit are told they have outstanding debts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When an official was dispatched from Tehran to address the strike, he did not offer a solution or a timeline for repayment. Instead, workers reported that he threatened them with dismissal before leaving. &#8220;Where does our money go?&#8221; the workers demanded, noting they had not even received their holiday bonuses.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">December 22\u2014Kermanshah, western Iran<br \/>Retirees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) rallied to protest plunder and oppression by regime-linked institutions, accusing EIKO, the IRGC, and TCI\u2019s rent-seeking owners of rights violations and profiteering.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IranProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IranProtests<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Svxa44pNIX\">pic.twitter.com\/Svxa44pNIX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; People&#39;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mojahedineng\/status\/2003111743585910938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, in Khuzestan, cement truck drivers were forced to sleep on the street in freezing temperatures outside the terminal to protest unpaid fares. &#8220;No one has come to ask what our pain is,&#8221; one driver stated, highlighting the total absence of response from local officials or the factory management.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Students and Citizens Defy Intimidation<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite a crackdown on academic dissent, students at the University of Tehran continued their protests for a second consecutive day regarding housing rights. Facing a wave of summonses to disciplinary committees\u2014a common tactic to silence activism\u2014the students refused to back down. They chanted, &#8220;If students are suspended, the university will be shut down,&#8221; and &#8220;Student dies but accepts no humiliation,&#8221; signaling that the university remains a bastion of freedom despite the pressure.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">December 22\u2014Tehran, Iran<br \/>For a second day, University of Tehran students rallied against the cancellation of housing for some classmates and mass summons to disciplinary committees. \u201cWe won\u2019t back down until we get our rights,\u201d they said, chanting: \u201cIf students are suspended, the\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GD7K3tjpvO\">pic.twitter.com\/GD7K3tjpvO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; People&#39;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mojahedineng\/status\/2003108487996289239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The breakdown in governance was further underscored in Iranshahr, where shopkeepers gathered at the governor&#8217;s office after an armed robbery occurred in broad daylight on Hafez Street. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/\">The protest highlighted<\/a> the regime\u2019s failure to provide basic security for citizens, even as it allocates vast budgets to its security apparatus for political suppression.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The events of December 22 paint a picture of a regime facing crises on every front. From the MP\u2019s admission of 64 percent inflation to the strikes paralyzing railways and factories, the economic mismanagement is palpable. However, the slogans chanted by retirees and students indicate that the public no longer views these hardships as isolated administrative failures but as the direct result of a &#8220;plunderous&#8221; system managed by the IRGC and ruling clerics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the heels of the winter solstice, traditionally a time of celebration in Iran known as Yalda Night, the country&rsquo;s deepening economic crisis has sparked a fresh wave of unrest. [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":340744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[130],"class_list":{"0":"post-340740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-protests","8":"tag-iran-protests"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Protests Erupt Across Multiple Provinces in Iran as Official Warns 55 Million Face Poverty - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On the heels of the winter solstice, traditionally a time of celebration in Iran known as Yalda Night, the country\u2019s deepening economic crisis has sparked\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/iran-protests-erupt-across-multiple-provinces-as-official-warns-55-million-face-poverty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Protests Erupt Across Multiple Provinces in Iran as Official Warns 55 Million Face Poverty - 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