Retirees and pensioners of the Social Security Organization held protests rallies in several cities across Iran on Monday, June 6, 2022, protesting low wages and pensions, insurance issues, and poor living conditions.
Protests were reported in Kerman, Mashhad, Zanjan, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Tabriz, Dezful, Shushtar, Rasht, Karaj, Qazvin, Shush, and Shiraz among others. The protest of the retirees, which occur regularly, are happening as Iran has seen two waves of intense anti-regime protests in the past month, caused by declining economic conditions, growing inflation, and skyrocketing prices of basic goods.
The retirees and Social Security Organization pensioners, continuing their gatherings from previous weeks, are calling for an increase in their pensions as an immediate measure to address their growing woes, while the entire economy continues to suffer from mismanagement, massive corruption, and the regime’s destructive policies.
In Karaj, the protesters were chanting “Death to Raisi!” and “High prices and inflation are killing the people!,” holding regime president Ebrahim Raisi accountable for the current economic conditions.
In Kerman, retired workers rallied outside the Kerman Provincial Office and blocked a road while chanting: “Incompetent minister, resign!”
In Tabriz, the protesters were shouting, “We will not give in to disgrace,” expressing their frustration and rage toward the government’s continued measures to shut down their voice through threats and repression. The protesters also chanted “Death to Raisi.”
In Kermanshah, protesters were holding signs that read, “Neither the government nor the Majlis (parliament) care about the people.”
The protesters were shouting, “The minister is a disgrace,” referring to Hojatollah Abdolmaleki, Raisi’s Labor Minister.
“This minister is a disgrace. We retirees owe nothing to anyone,” one of the protesters said. The crowd chanted, “Retirees will die, but won’t give in to disgrace.”
In this regard, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI) sent a message and said: “Today, Iran retirees rose up in Tabriz. Chanting, “Death to Raisi,” they expressed the nation’s outrage against the mullahs and demand for the regime’s overthrow. The corrupt & criminal mullahs do not spare even the retirees’ meager salaries to fill their pockets”.
Mrs. Rajavi added: “Retirees’ cries for justice in Iran echo in Tehran, Tabriz, Rasht, Mashhad, Shiraz, Isfahan, Kerman, Ahvaz, Dezful, Mahshahr, Kermanshah, Abadan & Khorramabad. I salute them for rising up to obtain their rights & demand an end to the mullahs’ regime in unison with all Iranians”.
