Retirees Across Iran Protest Against Pension Crisis and Government Corruption

By
Staff Writer
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In cities across Iran, retirees from various sectors have taken to the streets in a resounding protest against deteriorating living conditions and neglect of their demands by the government.
In cities across Iran, retirees from various sectors have taken to the streets in a resounding protest against deteriorating living conditions and neglect of their demands by the government.

In cities across Iran, retirees from various sectors have taken to the streets in a resounding protest against deteriorating living conditions and neglect of their demands by the government.

 

On Sunday, November 5, gatherings of retirees from the Social Security Organization were reported in the cities of Shush, Ahvaz, Dezful, and Kermanshah, where frustrated pensioners voiced their need for increased pensions in response to surging living costs. Parallel demonstrations echoed in the steel industry with retirees in Shahrud, Ghaemshahr, and Isfahan rallying for similar grievances.

Protesters united under potent slogans like “We will not live under oppression,” and “Pensioners will die but will not give in to disgrace.” Their collective outcry for justice and a refusal to succumb to poverty signals a deep-seated discontent with the state’s economic policies under President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration.

 

 

The epicenter of discontent in Ahvaz saw pensioners congregating in front of the local Social Security Authority offices, with chants emphasizing their quest for freedom and an end to what they consider modern slavery. These disadvantaged pensioners demand the salaries they have been deprived of after decades of labor, accusing the regime of diverting pension funds for its own controversial purposes.

Iran’s pension funds are currently facing what is described as a “huge crisis,” attributed to widespread looting and corruption within the ruling regime. State-run newspapers like Hammihan and Etemad have highlighted the alarming state of national challenges impacting financial stability, specifically pointing to the mismanagement and systemic corruption of pension funds by entities associated with Ali Khamenei.

 

 

According to Saeed Lailaz, an analyst with close ties to the regime, the social security funds crisis is not an accident but a product of organized plundering. Official reports by Etemad on May 8, 2023, unveiled the government’s astronomical debt to pension funds, amounting to approximately 5,010 trillion rials (around $10 billion), a figure so colossal that not even the nation’s oil revenues could resolve the arrears effortlessly.

The protestors, labeled as ‘noble pensioners’ by supportive factions, are recognized for their lifelong contributions to society, which are now, according to them, being exploited by corrupt officials. With inflation spiraling, and the compounded problems of healthcare, environmental degradation, and unemployment, retirees are confronted with an increasingly precarious existence.

 

 

Today’s retirees, after three decades of contribution, expected a peaceful retirement, not a battle against what they see as the oppressive and corrupt rule of the mullahs. Their stand against the regime is bold and underscores a refusal to accept indignity and impoverishment as their twilight years’ reward. This burgeoning movement of the aged and experienced, historically considered a time for quietude, is a telling sign of the broader socio-economic challenges facing Iran today.

 

 

 

MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI  (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu

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