The nationwide strike by truck drivers and heavy vehicle operators in Iran reached its tenth day on Saturday, May 31, and has now spread to 152 cities across all 31 provinces. What began as a limited protest has now turned into one of the largest and most coordinated labor strikes in recent years.
Reasons for the strike and demands
Heavy vehicle drivers have halted operations in protest against the rising price of diesel fuel, high insurance premiums, lack of road safety, economic hardship, and the regime’s chronic disregard for labor demands. The Union of Iranian Truckers and Drivers Organizations issued a statement declaring that “the strike will continue until all demands are fully met” and that they “will not trust verbal promises without guarantees.”
Regime’s response: threats, bribes, and arrests
Officials from Iran’s regime have attempted to end the strike by promising to address the demands. Mehran Ghorbani, deputy minister of roads and urban development, promised that the demands would be addressed within a month. However, drivers deemed these remarks untrustworthy and continued the strike.
Iran’s Truckers’ Strike: A Growing Movement That Could Shake the Regime
At the same time, the regime has launched a broad security crackdown to suppress the strike. The public relations department of the Road Maintenance Organization in Yazd province posted a banner warning that drivers who do not load goods will be deprived of their legal benefits.
In provinces such as Khuzestan, Gilan, Hamedan, Fars, and Kurdistan, security forces have arrested several drivers. The Intelligence Organization of the IRGC in Khuzestan stated it had arrested several drivers on charges of “sending videos of gatherings to hostile media outlets.”
Wave of solidarity: from bus operators to artists
Support for the truck drivers’ strike is growing. Minibus drivers in Isfahan have joined the strike. Various social groups—including teachers, retirees, nurses, education workers, oil workers, students, and bazaar merchants—have issued statements expressing their support.
Thirty-two artists, filmmakers, and cultural figures wrote in a statement:
“The truck drivers’ strike is a warning against all the oppression, inequality, theft, and widespread poverty that have made people’s lives difficult and unbearable.”
Silence of official media and spread of parallel protests
While state-run media remain silent, the tenth day of the truckers’ strike coincided with other protest gatherings. Workers in Ilam, Tehran, Arak, and Lordegan, bakers in Mashhad and Isfahan, and retirees from Bank Saderat in Tehran held demonstrations. In Shiraz, sanitation workers protested, and in Khuzestan, industrial project workers and wheat farmers also demonstrated.
The truck drivers’ strike is not just a labor dispute—it has become a symbol of widespread discontent with the regime’s economic and administrative policies. As the strike continues and arrests mount, the gap between the ruling system and society grows deeper by the day. While the regime resorts to unguaranteed promises and security crackdowns, civil society and various social groups are forging a united front of nationwide protests.
