Protests By Workers, Professionals Continue In Iran
Workers' protests are continuing across Iran's government buildings as grievances fail to be addressed by the regime amid dire poverty.
Workers' protests are continuing across Iran's government buildings as grievances fail to be addressed by the regime amid dire poverty.
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that a group of farmers staged a demonstration on Saturday in front of the governorate building in Isfahan (Esfahan), central Iran.
The protest showed the desperation of the community who have been ignored over the years. Multiple regions across Iran have witnessed protests from farmers in recent years with data from the Iranian Statistics Center last year reporting that a quarter of the country's farmers had faced unemployment over the past seven years.
Simultaneously on Saturday, temporary contract employees of the ministry of oil gathered for a protest in front of the National Iranian South Oil Company in Ahvaz, demanding an increase in salaries.
In western Iran, a group of nurses in Eslamabad-e Gharb held a protest at a hospital. Additionally, in central Iran, nurses gathered in front of the governorate building in Yazd, expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of attention to their demands.
Nurses, protesting delayed increases for over a year, are now demanding a raise in their wages. On Saturday, the Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted Shamseddin Shamsi, a member of the Supreme Nursing Council, stating that there is a shortage of over 30,000 nurses in the country.
The directive, issued by the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts of Tehran Province, targets tours marketed by Iran-based agencies that include performances by diaspora singers that usually take place in neighboring countries. The action highlights a growing tension between the Iranian authorities and artists from the diaspora.
In the recent letter directed to travel and tourism agencies in Tehran, Parham Janfeshan, the director-general of cultural heritage, tourism in Tehran Province, expressed concerns about certain travel agencies advertising and selling tickets for concerts by certain singers, including those from Los Angeles. The communication underscored the importance of adherence to “Islamic values” and warns against potential violations.
The warning includes threats that the travel offices involved in the promotion and sale of services related to these concerts will be referred to a special committee for decision on possible penalties.
Hormatollah Rafiei, the head of the guild for Travel Service Offices and Tourism, warned against violations and emphasized that travel agencies operating permits exclude the right to promote these concerts.
Since the Revolution in 1979 -- when pop music was declared "haram" (forbidden) by the founder of the Islamic Republic Rouhollah Khomeini, Iranians have found ways to follow pop music they love. With domestic performances restricted to a very narrow type of regime-approved songs, a vibrant tradition emerged – Iranians began to travel to nearby countries to attend concerts by their favorite singers from the diaspora.
Primarily based in Los Angeles, these Iranian-American pop stars, barred from performing in their homeland, draw substantial crowds during tours in countries like Turkey, the UAE, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. These destinations are financially more affordable for Iranians, with fewer visa requirements.
The Los Angeles region is home to the world’s largest Iranian community outside of Iran and has been a scene of anti-Islamic Republic protest rallies especially since the start of the Women, Life, Freedom movement. There are about 400,000 Iranian-born immigrants in the United States and their children. More than a third of them live in the Los Angeles metropolitan region, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.
Iranian pop stars enjoy significant popularity also among expatriates in European countries. Singer-songwriters Shahin Najafi and Mohsen Namjou are noteworthy artists based in Europe, boasting a sizable fan base of Iranian expatriates.
The popularity of foreign-based artists surpasses that of their Iran-based counterparts, forming a global community of Iranian music enthusiasts who overcome travel obstacles to enjoy performances prohibited in their country. To gauge their popularity, one can contrast Iranians spending an average of $200 per ticket for concerts by Iranian stars like Ebi, Dariush, or Googoosh in Turkey or Dubai with the popularity of international stars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. In Iran, concert tickets typically range from $5 to $10.
Warnings against going to such concerts were issued in previous years when these events were more regularly organized in neighboring countries. However, the recent campaign underscores an escalating divide, intensified by last year's Women, Life, Freedom protests. The nationwide revolt, sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini, saw numerous exiled Iranian stars rallying behind the people and denouncing the regime's suppression of dissent.
The majority of these singers utilized their concerts as a platform to amplify the voices of Iranian protesters globally. Concerts by Iranian expatriates commonly featured images of iconic protesters harmed, detained, or killed by Iran's security forces, accompanied by chants against the Islamic Republic.
Iranian state-run media has consistently published reports criticizing the so-called Los Angeles singers, alleging that they take advantage of popular protests for personal gain. At the same time, the Islamic Republic detained renowned singer Mehdi Yarrahi after releasing a song in support of the opposition to the mandatory hijab, while Shervin Hajipour’s revolution song ‘Baraye’ was crowned the Best Song for Social Change at the Grammys 2023.
Nearly 100 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the Sunni city of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province, during the Bloody Friday tragedy on September 30, 2022, when they came out for peaceful anti-government protests.
On the eve of Mowlavi Abdolhamid's weekly Friday sermon, security and law enforcement forces were deployed in some crossings of Sistan-Baluchistan province, human rights sources reported.
Baluch Activists Campaign group published videos of "armored bulletproof military vehicles” on the streets of Zahedan and reported snipers were stationed on a mountain near the city’s main Makki Mosque since Friday morning.
Besides Zahedan, Khash city was also experiencing a strong security and military presence, with armored vehicles deployed in the city to deal with any potential gatherings of citizens.
While there has not been a trial for the perpetrators of the killings of protesters, several Baloch protesters accused of attacking security forces and law enforcement have been executed.
“There are reports that some [government agents] go to the families of victims of Bloody Friday and urge them to accept ‘blood money’. The country's customs and current law prohibit this,” said Iran’s top Sunni cleric Mowlavi Abdolhamid.
As per Iran's Islamic Penal Code, a person who has committed murder can avoid the death penalty if the victim's family forgives him. In that case, they may be sentenced to prison and be required to pay "blood money" to the next of kin.
The southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan is among the most economically deprived parts of Iran. The province has a large Baluch population, mostly Sunnis. They have historically been among Iran's most persecuted minorities, with the highest execution rate.
“It is surprising that despite the leader's order to punish the perpetrators and leaders of this crime, it has not been followed. Our belief until now was that the leader's orders are valid, and at least those who eat the bread of sovereignty and government will follow it,” Abdolhamid said during his Friday sermon.
“It gives comfort to the families of the martyrs to know that those who committed this crime will be punished,” he continued.
The Bloody Friday protests began with worshippers gathering after a police commander sexually assaulted a young Baluch girl. The uprising became one of the bloodiest days of the uprising following Mahsa Amini's death in morality police custody.
A week-round protest has been taking place in this Sunni-majority city since then, following sermons delivered by the city's Friday prayer leader Mowlavi Abdolhamid.
In his speech on Friday, Mowlavi Abdolhamid once again asked the Islamic Republic to end discrimination and consider "national interests".
