On Sunday, January 13, 2019, Maryam Rajavi attended a New Year ceremony attended by French mayors, elected representatives and supporters of the Iranian Resistance. Titled, “Solidarity with the Iranian People’s Resistance and Uprising,” the conference called for greater support for ongoing protests in Iran and the Iranian people's efforts to free their country from the tyranny of the ruling mullahs.
Among the participants in the meeting were Mrs. Anissa Boumediene, former First Lady of Algeria; Mr. Dominique Lefebvre, former MP; Bishop Jacques Gaillot, a number of Paris district mayors, the mayor of Val d’Oise, and a number of French personalities.
Maryam Rajavi welcomed the audience and extended her New Year felicitations. She briefly reviewed the events of the past year and elaborated on the prospects of 2019. Following is the text of her speech: Read more
2019 would be a year of advancement of resistance and uprisings towards freedom and victory
Suffering Christians of Iran, fellow compatriots, followers of Jesus Christ around the world,
My greetings for Christmas, on the birth of Jesus Christ, son of Mary, the great prophet of God.
And I bow before the Virgin Mary, the eternal example of innocence and purity.
The birthday of Jesus Christ is a jubilant celebration for the enchained humanity that yearns for emancipation and fraternity.
He was the messenger of compassion and friendship. He used to say, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25: 35-40)
Christ set a tradition that showed men that they could be privileged by sacrificing for others. He said, “Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15: 9-17)
He described the sublime existence of human beings as living to serve others and not themselves. He said that he had not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20: 25-28) READ MORE
On Monday, the farmers of Varzaneh, Isfahan province, returned to the streets to resume their protests over water shortages and government corruption in managing water sources. “We will fight, we will die and we will take back our rights,” the farmers were chanting. The farmers were also shouting, “Hail to farmers, death to tyrants,” a reference to government officials who have contributed to the water problems of the province. Read more
Azad University students protest for the second consecutive day
On Sunday, December 30th, students from Tehran's Azad University of Science and Research protested for the second consecutive day in protest of the loss of their 10 classmates during a bus accident. In the course of this move, the university president fled by his car from the university instead of answering the students. On Saturday, thousands of students also rallied for the same cause. Astronomical thefts and plundering the people's assets by the leaders of the mullahs’ regime have made Iran one of the most vulnerable countries in the face of incidents such as traffic accidents, fires, earthquakes, and so on. Read more
Science and Research University students holding massive protest gathering
Students of the Science and Research University in Tehran, the capital of Iran, held a major rally on Saturday morning expressing their anger over Iranian regime authorities in this facility. The students were grieving the loss of their classmates killed in a recent bus accident and holding incompetent regime officials responsible for the incident. Read more
Ms. Rajavi’s call to support and immediate action to release the arrested teachers
Demonstration of Isfahan education staff despite repressive measures, arrest of dozens of protesters Read more
On Saturday, families, and colleagues of the workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group arrested by security forces gathered in front of the Khuzestan province governor's office and protested to the continued incarceration of their coworkers and loved ones. The protesters held banners which read: “Imprisoned workers must be freed” and “Workers don’t belong in prison.” Read more
Truck drivers’ nationwide strike, farmers other deprived people’s protests Iran: Fifth round o truckers’ new nationwide strike Truck drivers throughout Iran have launched a new, fifth round of nationwide strikes across the country . According to previously made arrangements, truckers will be on strike until December 31.
The drivers are protesting low wages as prices are skyrocketing throughout the country. Read more
Protests in Tehran, Ahvaz and Tabriz
On Sunday, protests by workers and other underprivileged classes of the Iranian population continued in several cities.
Truck drivers’ strike continues
Iran’s truckers, who had previously declared a 10-day strike, entered the second day of their protests. According to local reports, truck commutes in many of the country’s highways had stopped altogether. The strike of truck drivers has also spread to many other cities including Mashhad, Isfahan, Sari, and Bushehr. Read more
Teachers’ protests show the Iranian regime’s deadlock
Since the beginning of the year, teachers of Iran have been intermittently demonstrating and going on strike to protest against the trampling of their rights by the Iranian regime. More recently, the teachers of Isfahan came to the streets and gathered in front of the offices of the education ministry to protest against the Iranian regime’s lack of response to their demands.
The demands of the teachers and education workers included the release of their imprisoned colleagues, health insurance for retired teachers, the increase of the budget of the education sector and the increase of the salaries of teachers and university professors. Read more
Political prisoner voices support for protesting Ahvaz steel workers
Political prisoner Abolghasem Fouladvand, currently held in Gohardasht (Rajaie Shahr) prison of Karaj, west of Tehran, wrote a letter expressing his support for the protests staged by employees of the National Steel Group in Ahvaz, southwest Iran. Fouladvand also condemned the mass arrest of these workers who have been on strike for more than a month.
UK labor unions voice support for arrested workers in Iran
he Trade Union Congress (TUC), one of the largest labor unions in England and Wales with 5.6 million members, issued a statement condemning the Iranian regime’s ongoing crackdown of workers, college students and other protesters across Iran. The TUC also expressed its solidarity with employees of the National Steel Group in Ahvaz and Haft Tapeh sugarcane mill in Shush, both in Khuzestan province of southwest Iran. The TUC condemned the raids by security forces into the homes of many protesting steelworkers across Ahvaz and their arrests, emphasizing the apprehended workers must be immediately released. The statement reads:
Iran: Protests reports from numerous cities across the country
As we near the first anniversary of the Dec/Jan uprising that shook the very pillars of the mullahs’ regime in Iran, people from all walks of life are launching protests and strikes, courageously making their demands heard.
Employees of the Arian Foolad (Steel) Buin Zahra, west of Tehran, rallied on Wednesday outside the mayor’s office, expressing their support for and solidarity with the protesting National Steel Group employees in Ahvaz, southwest Iran. Read more
Condemnation of the Arrest of Dozens of Workers of Iran’s Ahvaz Steel
Workers of Iran’s Ahvaz Steel National Industrial Group have been on strike for 40 days. We were informed that dozens of workers were arrested by Iranian regime’s security forces on Sunday night, 16 December 2018.
Many workers have been protesting every day and chanting slogans such as "We stand, we die, we do not accept humiliation; neither threat, nor prison, they are no longer useful; student, worker, unity; imprisoned worker must be freed; imprisoned student must be freed; neither ruler nor the state, can overcome the worker; neither ruler, nor the state, think about the nation; inflation, high prices, respond Rouhani; our country is a thief house; it's unique in the world; liar Rouhani… Read more
More Iranian steel workers arrested in second night of raids in Ahwaz Suppressive security forces of the ruling religious fascism in Iran conducted midnight raids in Ahwaz on Monday for the second consecutive night. The raids targeted the homes of Iranian National Steel Industries Group (INSIG) workers and led to the arrest of more workers. Dozens of workers arrested Sunday night and Monday are still in detention. Many workers are spending nights outside their homes to avoid arrest.
The steelworkers are entering the 39th day of their strike and protest action despite the repressive actions of the regime. They announced that they will continue to strike until the last steelworker is freed from detention.
Hundreds of pensioners protesting outside the regime’s Parliament in Tehran voiced their support for the striking Ahwaz steelworkers on Tuesday morning. The protesters shouted: “From Ahwaz to Tehran, workers are in jails”; “Free the steelworkers”; “Imprisoned workers must be freed”; “Imprisoned teachers must be freed”; “Government engages in crimes, parliament supports it”; “Free insurance is our right”; “The enemy is here, they lie to us that it’s America”. Read more
38th day of demonstration of Steel workers despite dozens of arrests and repressive measures
The arrest of representatives of Ahvaz Steelworkers and protesters, which started last midnight (Sunday, December 16), continued on Monday, December 17. The number of detainees has reached dozens, the names of 31 of whom have been published so far.
At the same time, the mullahs’ regime had stationed repressive forces from the Ministry of Intelligence, riot police and forces affiliated with the IRGC and IRGC intelligence in various sensitive locations in Ahvaz so that workers could not continue their protests. However, the workers, despite the fact that they were surrounded by oppressive forces in some places, continued to demonstrate with slogans such as: “Imprisoned workers must be freed”.
Workers, being threatened by repressive forces, said they would continue their demonstrations until the release of the arrested and achieving their demands.
Workers and laborers from different parts of Iran, including the Tehran Bus Company workers’ syndicate and truck drivers in various parts of Iran, expressed their solidarity with Ahvaz workers and called for the immediate release of the detainees.
Saluting the brave and adamant workers of Ahvaz, the Iranian Resistance described the brutal and mass arrests on Sunday night and on Monday as indication of the frustration of religious fascism in the face of the strikes and protests of workers, and called on all workers and youth and students, especially in Ahvaz and Khuzestan, to support the striking workers of Ahvaz. It also called on international human rights and workers' rights advocates and workers’ unions and syndicates in different countries to support the striking workers who are protesting for their basic rights, and to take necessary measures for the release of the arrests.
New protests reported in cities across Iran
More reports of protests, strikes, and gatherings are reported from a variety of cities throughout Iran. On Thursday, teachers and their students in Hamedan, farmers in Isfahan, college students in Tehran, unemployed youths in Rafsanjan and bus drivers in Khuzestan Province were reported to hold numerous rallies Read more
Esmaeel Bakhshi, representative of Haft Tapeh workers, is set free
he Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Workers Syndicate issued a statement on Wednesday announcing the release of Esmaeel Bakhshi, a worker and workers’ representative of Haft Tapeh in Shush, southwest Iran.
Bakhshi and other workers were arrested on November 18 as the Haft Tapeh workers were on the 14th day of their strike and protests Read more
Strike and protest of Iran's Ahvaz Steel and Haft Tapeh sugar mill workers and support of other workers Workers of Ahvaz steel factory hold 32nd day of protests
The workers of Iran National Steel Industrial group returned to the streets of Ahvaz today to mark the 32nd day of the strikes and the 24th day of their demonstrations. The workers, who had gathered in front of the Khuzestan province governor’s office, held banners that read: “Workers are awake and tired of being exploited.”
Like many other factories and companies across Iran, the steelworkers of Ahvaz have not received their salaries for months, which is the main reason they have been protesting for an extended period of time. They are also demanding the establishment of all production lines, supplying the necessary equipment and parts, and the return of the factory to the control of the government. Private investors, mostly tied to regime officials have been profiteering from the company at the expense of the workers and without oversight, which has enraged the workers Read more
Numerous protests reported in Tehran, other cities
Contract workers rallied outside the city council building located at the South City Park Avenue on Tuesday, demanding their savings stolen by state officials returned. Their chants and slogans include:
#MaryamAkbari, #GolrokhIraee declare support for #protesting #workers
Evin political prisoners Maryam Akbari Monfared and Golrokh Iraee sent out an open letter in support of the continued protests of the workers of Ahvaz Steel and Haft Tappeh Sugarcane factories on Sunday, December 2, 2018.
In the letter of support released by the Haft Tappeh Workers' Syndicate, Maryam Akbari and Golrokh Iraee wrote: Read more
Ahvaz steel workers hold protests for 26th consecutive day
Dec. 5, 2018 - On Wednesday, the workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group in Ahvaz, Khuzestan province, took to the streets of Ahvaz for the 26th consecutive day to protest for their rights. The workers were chanting “we will not give in to disgrace.” The workers were marching toward the main streets of the city, holding banners that read, “Workers are awake and fed up with being exploited.” Read more
Iran: Protests reported in Tabriz, other cities
As living conditions continue to become more difficult and more than 80 percent of Iranians are living in poverty, protests by people from all walks of life are mushrooming across the Employees of a ball-bearing factory in Tabriz, northwest Iran, rallied on Tuesday protesting not receiving their paychecks for the past four months. This is the country’s largest ball-bearing factory. Read more
Iranian Students Protest Ahead of Student Day
Large numbers of university students in Iran held protest rallies on Tuesday, in solidarity with striking workers, as well as jailed students and teachers.
At Tehran’s Amirkabir University of Technology, also known as Polytechnic University, students formed a long human chain, whilst holding signs and chanting slogans. Some of the most memorable, include “Cannons, tanks, guns, they are no longer effective”, “Workers, students, unite, unite”, “Jailed workers, students, and teachers must be released”, and “Victory is near. Down with this deceptive government”. Read more
On Tuesday, December 4th, days before the National Student Day (December 7th), students from various universities including Tehran Polytechnic, Tabriz Sahand, and Babol Noushirvani staged protest rallies. In Tehran, students of the Polytechnic University resisted and confronted and clashed with the Basij mercenaries who intended to disrupt the gathering. Students chanted: Imprisoned workers must be released; Imprisoned students must be released; Cannon, Tank, Machine Gun do not work anymore; Real teacher should be released; Death to this deceitful government.
Students at Babol Noushirvan University carried placards at their protest gathering which read: Stop suppression of students; Student would rather die than accept this humiliation.
A group of students at Semnan University of Medical Sciences protested against Rouhani when he entered the university hall. They chanted: Inflation, high prices, you, Rouhani respond!
The day before, on the occasion of the Student Day, students from the Faculty of Social Sciences of Tehran Allameh University, Kermanshah Razi University, and Sirjan University of Medical Sciences protested against the regime's suppressive measures against the students. Students at Razi University chanted slogans in support of the striking workers: Student, Worker, Teacher, United, United; Teachers are in jail from Khorasan to Tehran; Free imprisoned teachers.
At the Chamran University of Kerman, ‘Herasat’ department, a branch of the Ministry of Intelligence at the universities, has imposed a repressive instruction. According to this medieval instruction, students are forbidden from going to each other's rooms, and if a student is seen in another room, students in that room will be fined 100,000 tomans.
On Tuesday, December 4th, deprived workers of Ahwaz steel continued their courageous strike for the twenty-fifth day. The strikers rallied outside the regime's governorate and in the city bazaar with the slogans: Our country is the place of thieves, it is unique in the world; neither the ruler nor the government minds the nation; Worker would rather die than accept humiliation; Imprisoned workers must be freed. Read more
Strikes, protests reported in Tehran & across the country
As the regime ruling Iran faces increasing regional and global isolation, protests and strikes are escalating across the country, causing an even more concerning crisis for the mullahs’ regime.
Medical students in Tehran rallied on Sunday outside the office of Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani in Pastour Avenue. Read more
On Monday, the workers of the Iran National Steel Industrial Group returned to the streets of Ahvaz, Khuzestan, to protest for their most basic rights. The workers have been demanding the payment of their overdue salaries for months. Read more
Dec. 2, 2018 - Workers of Haft Tapeh sugar cane factory hold 28th consecutive day of protests and strikes
On Sunday morning, the workers of Haft Tapeh sugar cane factory in Shush, Khuzestan province, returned to the streets for the 28th day to demonstrate and demand their rights. The workers, who have been on strike for four weeks, are demanding their unpaid salaries, job security, the ouster of the private owners of the company and the release of their imprisoned colleagues. Read more
Tehran bus syndicate voices support for Haft Tapeh sugarcane workers
The Greater Tehran Bus Syndicate issued a statement condemning the arrest and beating of Esmaeel Bakhshi, a representative of the protesting Haft Tapeh sugarcane mill workers in Shush, southwest Iran, and demanding his immediate release.
This syndicate is also calling for the closure of all judicial cases raised against other Haft Tapeh employee representatives. Read more
