In one of the latest cases of “femicide” in Iran, a 17-year-old girl named Mobina Zainivand was shot and killed by her father in Darreh Shahr County, Ilam Province.The Hengaw website reported on Tuesday, August 27, that Mobina Zainivand, a 17-year-old girl from Darreh Shahr in Ilam Province, was “killed by her father.”According to Hengaw, citing an informed source, Rahim, Mobina’s 56-year-old father, killed the teenage girl at home on Monday, August 26, due to suspicions of her having a “relationship with a teenage boy.”The report states that “Mobina’s father, due to family disputes” with the boy’s family, “wanted to end their relationship” and “killed his daughter for this reason.”Under the Iranian regime’s law, if the father is the perpetrator, he is practically immune from punishment, citing the “right of blood” as the “guardian of blood” under the regime’s laws. In cases of spousal or femicide, the regime’s penal code provides loopholes that allow the perpetrator to claim immunity under pretexts like “honor” or suspicion of “illicit relationships.”According to Iranian penal law, the punishment for “homicide” is “retribution” (Qisas). However, under Article 630 of the regime’s penal code, “If a man catches his wife in the act of adultery with a stranger and is certain of her consent, he can kill them both at that moment. If the woman is coerced, he can only kill the man.”Civil activists and human rights defenders have protested against discrimination against women in Iran’s laws for decades. International organizations and the United Nations have repeatedly called on the Iranian regime to abolish discriminatory laws, a demand that has gone unanswered for four decades.In the first half of this year, femicide in Iran increased by 60% compared to the same period last year.
As the protests by nurses, healthcare staff, and emergency personnel continued in at least nine cities—Isfahan, Neyshabur, Bandar Abbas, Kermanshah, Tehran, Bushehr, Hamedan, Yazd, and Ilam—on Tuesday, August 27, government agents clashed with the gathering of medical emergency staff in Bushehr, arresting several of them.Several nurses and emergency medical staff have been arrested in Bushehr.The exact number of those arrested remains unknown, and Iranian security officials have not provided any information on the matter.Security forces were also highly visible during the nurses’ protests in Tehran, attempting to disperse the demonstrators.However, the protesters insisted on continuing their demonstrations until their demands are met, chanting, “You think it’s just today, but we’re here every day.”In Hamedan, protesting nurses gathered in front of the governor’s office, chanting, “Enough with the promises, our tables are empty.”Protest slogans were also repeated during the nurses’ rally in Kermanshah, where demonstrators held placards demanding “Transparent payment of nursing fees” and “Full implementation of the productivity law according to nursing services.”In Yazd, protesting nurses went on strike at Sadoughi Hospital, staging a sit-in in the hallways and chanting, “Nurses will die, but will not accept humiliation.”Nurses at the Issa Bin Maryam Hospital in Isfahan chanted, “Overtime pay is 200,000 rials ($0.33), shame, shame.”Nurses across the country protest low paymentIn Bandar Abbas, protesting nurses gathered in front of the Hormozgan governor’s office, chanting, “We don’t want promises, we want our rights,” and “Nurse, shout out, scream for your rights.”Nurses and medical staff at public hospitals have escalated their protests and strikes in at least 16 provinces of Iran since mid-August, emphasizing the fulfillment of their professional and livelihood demands. According to reports, several protesters have been arrested on charges of being “troublemakers.”The nurses are protesting against the non-implementation of the tariff law, mandatory overtime, and meager wages, and they insist that the Ministry of Health must listen to their voices and meet their demands.In recent years, Iranian regime officials have responded to labor protests with similar rhetoric, promising to address the demands, but in practice, some of these promises have been partially fulfilled or not implemented at all.According to Mohammad Sharifi-Moghaddam, Secretary-General of the House of Nurses, “For the first time in 100 years of modern nursing in Iran, protests have taken the form of work stoppages,” and “The situation has reached a point where nurses don’t care if they get fired for striking.”According to reports in Iranian media, security and administrative crackdowns on protesting nurses continue, and they are being threatened for pursuing their professional demands. These threats have persisted since the beginning of the Masoud Pezeshkian administration.In this regard, the state-run Tejarat News website wrote on Monday, August 26: “Instead of working to resolve the issues and meet the demands of the nurses, the officials have resorted to sending letters and making phone calls to threaten the nurses, forcing them to continue working under these substandard and illegal conditions.”Sharifi-Moghaddam told Tejarat News: “What the nurses are demanding is their legal rights, and they want the law to be properly enforced,” adding, “This inappropriate practice of threats and intimidation not only fails to solve the problems but may also lead to a worsening of the situation.”He emphasized, “Threatening nurses with wage deductions, when a nurse’s salary in many cities doesn’t even cover their commuting costs to the hospital, is unlikely to bring them back to work.”Nurses say that their unmarried colleagues with master’s and doctoral degrees earn slightly more than 120 million rials (approximately $200), while the highest salary for a married individual with child allowances and marriage benefits does not even reach 150 million rials (approximately $250).
Saeed Chalanderi, the CEO of “Khomeini Airport City,” stated, “For 10 years, 20 scrapped airplanes have been parked in the airport premises. These aircraft should be turned into scrap.” Approximately 60% of Iran’s air fleet is grounded, and its average age is about 20 years older than that of neighboring countries like Iraq. In an interview with the state-run ILNA news agency, Chalanderi mentioned that airplanes parked near the radar point of Khomeini Airport are causing issues. “We have informed the airlines that if they do not take action to resolve the status of these scrapped airplanes, we will increase the parking fees.” The CEO did not specify the exact parking costs, but the financial records of the company show that from March 21, 2023, to March 21, 2024, the airport generated approximately 4,180 billion rials (about 7 million dollars) in revenue from aircraft parking services. This marks a 122% increase compared to the 1,870 billion rials earned in the same period the previous year.
60% of Iran’s Air Fleet is Grounded
Ali-Reza Manzari, a former deputy of the Civil Aviation Organization, stated in an interview with the state-run Ham-Mihan newspaper in May 2024 that out of the country’s 350 aircraft, only 150 are operational. This means that 60% of the country’s air fleet is grounded. Manzari further pointed out the outdated condition of Iran’s air fleet, saying, “Sanctions have created an unfavorable situation for the industry and have prevented the import of new aircraft. In the past 35 years, the import of new aircraft has been zero. However, these sanctions have not led to the shutdown of the country’s aviation industry.” A year before Manzari’s recent interview, in May 2023, Mohammad Mohammadi-Bakhsh, the head of the Civil Aviation Organization, stated in an interview with the Etemad newspaper that out of 330 aircraft in the country’s air fleet, 173 were operational. These data indicate that in May 2023, approximately half of Iran’s air fleet was grounded, and this number increased by 10 percentage points to 60% in May 2024, according to Manzari’s statements.
Iran’s Air Fleet: 19 Years Older Than the UAE’s
In June 2024, in an interview with the state-run ISNA news agency, Mohammadi-Bakhsh highlighted the achievements of Ebrahim Raisi’s government, stating, “The average age of Iranian aircraft has decreased from 28.5 years at the start of Raisi’s administration to 26 years after nearly three years of the 13th government’s operation.” The situation is entirely different among Iran’s neighbors. In Iraq, a country that has experienced two major foreign wars and years of internal conflict, the average age of the Iraqi Airways and Fly Baghdad fleets is about eight years. The average age of the fleets of Pakistani airlines such as PIA, Air Blue, and Serene Air is about 13 years. The average age of Turkish aircraft is eight years, while the average age of the United Arab Emirates’ aircraft is around seven years.
The Iranian regime’s Majlis’ (Parliament) Research Center has reported a worsening crisis in effective demand within the economy. The center’s report indicates that the food and beverage industry’s sales index show a 7.3% decrease in June compared to the same month last year, and a 7.6% decrease compared to the previous month. This reflects the significant impact of rising prices on people’s livelihoods, leading to a lighter and more restricted food basket.According to the center’s report, which was published by the state-run newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad under the title “Industry in Red Status,” the production index of all sub-sectors, except the oil industry, has decreased. Furthermore, compared to the same month last year, the production and sales indices of all food and beverage industry sub-sectors have also declined.Donya-e-Eqtesad, relying on this report, described the state of the country’s industries by stating, “The continuation of the current situation will cause more firms to operate at half their production capacity, and this capacity will gradually decrease, eventually leading them to the risk of closure.”From analysts’ perspectives, the decline in production and sales indices across all industries indicates a very critical situation in the productive sector of the economy, pushing the economy to the brink of collapse.A more important aspect of this report, however, is the demand crisis in the food and beverage industries. The 7% decrease in this sector indicates that people’s food baskets are becoming lighter and more limited.These statistics become more significant when considering last week’s statements by Mohammad Esmail Motlagh, the regime’s head of the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Health and Food Security, who announced that eight provinces in the country require more attention regarding nutrition. At that time, critics interpreted the phrase “need more attention in eight provinces” as an unofficial acknowledgment of malnutrition in these provinces.In fact, the head of the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Health and Food Security has issued a warning about provinces that are considered economically disadvantaged.Now, with the decrease in demand for food, it seems that the livelihood crisis has expanded further, and the population affected by malnutrition is increasing.The state-run newspaper Ettela’at also criticized the economic conditions of the people in May 2024, warning about this issue and writing, “The undeniable reality in the lives of many families with fixed incomes and constantly fluctuating and rising expenses is this: there is a crisis in the general livelihood of the people.”The decline in people’s purchasing power, along with the rising production costs, are factors contributing to the decrease in demand in the food and beverage sector.
As power outages continue in various cities across Iran due to electricity shortages, Mehdi Bastanchi, the regime’s head of the Coordination Council of Industrial Towns, stated that power cuts in some industrial areas of Tehran have led to street protests.On Monday, August 26, Bastanchi wrote, “Yesterday, street protests occurred in the Khavaran Industrial Town due to a power outage.”This industrial official added on his X account that electricity in Khavaran Town, which is “the largest industrial town in Tehran,” was cut off on Monday and is scheduled to be out for another 24 hours starting Tuesday.In recent weeks, numerous reports have surfaced about the two-week closure of some factories in Mashhad at the request of the electricity department and the shutdown of certain shifts in Tehran’s industrial towns. Some of these reports were denied or corrected by government officials.A few days ago, Samad Hassanzadeh, the head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines, stated that power outages in production units have disrupted the activities of the private sector.In his latest message, Bastanchi also mentioned that small and medium-sized industries in industrial towns are “dying.”Meanwhile, on Monday, Tavanir, Iran’s national electricity company, announced that due to the extreme heat, which has been “unprecedented in the last 50 years,” all electricity consumers must reduce their consumption by 10%.Last year, the electricity supply deficit in Iran was 16%, but this year it has increased to 22%. The chairman of Iran’s Electricity Syndicate also warned that the electricity shortfall could reach 37% in the next ten years.Official statistics from the Ministry of Energy show that 13% of the country’s generated electricity is lost in the outdated and worn-out transmission and distribution network. This significant figure is equivalent to 40% of the country’s total household electricity consumption.
On Monday, August 26, retirees from the Telecommunications Company and the Social Security Organization held economic protests in several cities across Iran. In their chants, the protesters demanded the removal of “incompetent managers,” accountability from “lying and incompetent officials,” and the attainment of “fair rights.” According to reports on Monday, the weekly protests by retirees of the Telecommunications Company saw additional retirees from other organizations, including the Social Security Organization, joining in. These protests took place in several provinces, including Zanjan, Gilan, East Azerbaijan, Khuzestan, Isfahan, and Kurdistan. Retired protesters in Zanjan chanted, “Incompetent managers must be fired.” In Gilan, dozens of retired telecommunications workers gathered in front of the Telecommunications Department, chanting, “Lying manager, where are the results of your promises?” In Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan Province, retired protesters criticized the mismanagement and financial corruption of officials, chanting, “Incompetent official, you’ve plundered the company.” In Shush, a city in Khuzestan Province, protesting retirees highlighted their economic hardships, chanting, “The retiree’s fridge is emptier than before.” Retired telecommunications workers in Isfahan Province also chanted, “Incompetent manager, shame on you.” Retirees protesting in Kurdistan Province chanted, “Oppressive shareholder, shame on you.” The executive bylaw of Article 24 of the Civil Service Law, passed in 2010, outlines the tasks that can be delegated and how services can be purchased from the private sector. It states that “until the obstacles to delegation are removed,” the responsibility of providing services to the workforce remains with the executive body, i.e., the government. However, 14 years after the adoption of this bylaw and in light of the ongoing and frequent protests by these retirees, it appears that neither the “obstacles to delegation” have been removed nor has the executive body fulfilled its duties towards the protesters. The weekly protests by retirees of the Telecommunications Company have been ongoing for months. The reasons for these protests include the failure to update welfare allowances in 2022 and 2023, management’s disregard for the 2010 bylaw, issues with supplementary insurance, and the failure to pay past dues at current rates. Protests by oil and gas industry workers in Asaluyeh Simultaneously with the retirees’ protests, oil and gas industry workers also protested on Monday, with a group of employees from the Pars Oil and Gas Company in Asaluyeh marching in protest. Dozens of employees from the Pars Oil and Gas Company in Asaluyeh emphasized the demands of oil industry workers, chanting, “Our pay decreases, but oil and gas keep being produced,” and “Fair wages are our undeniable right.” The demands of these protesting workers include the removal of incompetent and corrupt officials, the elimination of the salary cap, the removal of retirement benefit limitations, and the revision of the retirement fund’s bylaws. The expansion of labor protests among various groups, including retirees, workers in different industries, teachers, victims of financial fraud, and nurses and healthcare workers, reflects the growing economic difficulties in Iran and the disregard of Iranian regime officials.
Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, CEO of Tavanir (Iran Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Management Company), stated that on Saturday, August 24, during peak consumption hours, the electricity demand reached 77,000 megawatts.This energy official added that on Saturday, “we surpassed last year’s electricity consumption demand for 42 days and 42 instances with unbelievable numbers.”This year, the increase in temperature, coupled with the government’s failure to increase electricity production, has raised the imbalance to 17,000 megawatts.While the relative drop in temperature last week brought hope for resolving the power outage problem, reports indicate that a new heatwave is expected by the end of the week, which will further increase electricity consumption.On Sunday, Rajabi Mashhadi told the state-run Mehr News Agency: “The country’s electricity consumption demand has been higher than last year’s peak for 42 days.”According to Rajabi Mashhadi, as reported by the Meteorological Organization, this August has been the hottest in the past 50 years, and although the Meteorological Organization predicted a slight temperature drop from yesterday, the temperature did not decrease, and reports indicate that the unusual heat will persist until the end of this week.He further urged the public to “help reduce the challenges of providing stable and continuous electricity in the country by saving at least ten percent.”
Possibility of Increased Electricity Consumption This Week
Meanwhile, Maziar Jamshidi, the Director of Operation and Network Control of the National Electricity Grid told IRNA News Agency: “We are in the last week of August, and the temperature continues to rise, so we expect an increase in temperature and, consequently, an increase in electricity consumption in the country until the end of this week.”Jamshidi said, “Electricity consumption in the country on Saturday, August 24, increased by about 500 to 600 megawatts compared to last week.”The record-breaking electricity consumption in Iran during the summer heatwave has previously made headlines.Ali Akbar Mehrabian, the Minister of Energy in Ebrahim Raisi’s government, stated earlier in August that Iran has experienced about a 9% increase in electricity consumption compared to last year due to unprecedented heat, adding, “The ten-year average growth rate of Iran’s electricity industry is 4.7%; in such a situation, it can be said that this year the country has experienced double the average electricity consumption growth of previous years.”Two days ago, the Chairman of the Board of the Iran Electrical Syndicate said that by 2035, the electricity imbalance would reach 37%, equivalent to one-third of the country’s electricity demand. Hasanali Taghizadeh described this imbalance as extremely “dangerous,” adding, “The electricity imbalance this summer was 17,000 megawatts, while last year it was 12,000 megawatts.”The unprecedented heatwave has now engulfed many countries, even large parts of Europe, but while Iran is grappling with the heat issue, it is also struggling with the inability to meet its electricity consumption needs.Despite all measures and warnings, there have been numerous reports of scattered, repeated, and widespread blackouts in many cities across the country in recent weeks.According to the Ministry of Energy, overall electricity consumption in Iran “is more than half of the consumption of the 27 European Union countries combined.” However, the main issue remains the increasing electricity deficit in the country.It is worth noting that Iran has the world’s second-largest gas reserves but is still unable to supply sufficient electricity. Moreover, due to its geographical location, Iran has great potential to generate electricity from renewable sources, but the regime has made no investment in this area. Instead, the Iranian regime has spent billions of dollars on its nuclear program and has allocated much of the country’s resources to regional interventions, yet it remains incapable of producing adequate electricity.
A member of the Iranian regime’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines reported that 12 million liters of fuel are smuggled daily from Iran to neighboring countries, adding that the annual value of this smuggled fuel is 4 billion dollars, with 3.5 billion dollars being “pure windfall profit.”On Sunday, August 25, Ali Shams-Ardakani added that smugglers take the fuel to the city of Van in Turkey, where they barter it for clothing, shoes, and other products.Ardakani also claimed to have the names of those involved in fuel smuggling to Turkey but refrained from disclosing them.He stated that the price of gasoline in Afghanistan is 400,000 rials (approximately $0.66) and that Iranian fuel is also being smuggled into this market.Reuters news agency reported last fall, citing Pakistani officials, that 4 million liters of fuel are smuggled daily from Iran to Pakistan, where it is sold cheaply at gas stations.Ardakani did not explain how the daily smuggling of 12 million liters of fuel, requiring hundreds of large tanker trucks, could be carried out by ordinary people, but The Washington Post reported in January 2022, citing sources, that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is at the center of the large fuel smuggling network in Iran.Transparency International ranks Iran 149th out of 180 countries in terms of financial corruption.Due to the sharp decline in the value of the rial in recent years, Iran offers the cheapest gasoline in the world to its citizens, and the significant price difference between domestic and international markets fuels smuggling.Ardakani states: “The smugglers illegally export fuel and simultaneously bring in contraband goods to sell in Iran for cash. In other words, they send out fuel and bring in clothing, curtains, shoes, and other items.”This member of the Chamber of Commerce described the situation as “smuggling within smuggling,” explaining that fuel smuggling to Turkey is exchanged for smuggled clothing. He added, “I estimate that this type of smuggling has destroyed nearly sixty thousand jobs in our consumer industries.”So far, Iranian regime officials have provided various figures on the volume of fuel smuggling out of the country.Jalil Salari, the former head of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, said in July of this year that by monitoring the transportation sector and digitizing shipping documents, 10 million liters of gasoline are saved daily.He explained: “According to reports, fuel smuggling occurs in such a way that diesel, which is priced at 7,000 rials per liter (approximately $0.011) domestically, is sold for 130,000 rials per liter (approximately $0.216) at the border of neighboring countries. This price difference brings significant profits to opportunists and fuel smugglers.”According to government-set prices, state-subsidized diesel is sold for 3,000 rials per liter (approximately $0.005) and at the free market price of 6,000 rials per liter (approximately $0.01).However, distribution service stations sometimes sell each liter of diesel for much more than the set price, ranging from 25,000 to 70,000 rials (approximately $0.041 to $0.011).Meanwhile, Malek Shariati, a member of the Iranian Parliament and the Energy Committee, estimated that 5 million liters of gasoline and 10 million liters of diesel are smuggled daily.
Abolfazl Norouzi, Director General of the Housing Economics Office at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, stated that there are more than 500,000 vacant housing units in the country, owned by no more than 90,000 individuals.On Friday, August 23, Norouzi warned the owners of vacant homes, saying that the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development is identifying these empty houses under certain articles of the Direct Tax Law and reporting them to the Tax Administration.He added that the necessary warnings have been issued to the owners of the identified units, with priority given to those who own more than 100 housing units.According to this official from the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, among the owners of these 500,000 vacant homes, some possess more than 50, 20, 10, or 3 vacant houses, and they are next in line to be reported to the Tax Administration.Mr. Norouzi says that the government’s approach to this issue is “not revenue-oriented,” but rather aimed at bringing these homes to the market. However, he had previously predicted that “30 trillion rials (approximately $50 million)” in taxes could be collected from vacant homes.In June 2023, Abolfazl Norouzi announced that the Ministry of Roads had “detailed residency information for 73 million Iranians” and warned that if heads of households did not register their home information in the “National Real Estate and Housing System,” they would be fined.Ebrahim Raisi’s government claimed that the plan to tax vacant homes was an effort to reduce the rising prices of housing and rent. However, more than a year after the implementation of this plan, reports indicate that housing prices continue to rise.Less than three years after Raisi’s government took office, the housing crisis in Iran has reached unprecedented levels, with an ordinary worker now needing to wait over two centuries to buy a standard apartment in Tehran.Davood Beigi-Nejad, Vice President of the Real Estate Union, also reported on August 18 that the market for rent, buying, and selling properties is experiencing stagflation, noting that the average rent in Tehran has increased by over 50%, and considering the rising housing prices, renters no longer think about buying a home.Moreover, Central Bank statistics show that under Raisi’s government, housing prices in Tehran have increased by 2.7 times.
New data from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that from the beginning of the Persian calendar year1400 (March 21, 2021) to August 21, 2024, the prices of food and beverages in the country have increased by 194%.Thus, during the three-year period of the 13th government, food prices have nearly tripled.The report from the Statistical Center, published on its website, also shows that inflation for the 12 months leading up to August this year was 34.8% compared to the same period last year.During this period, Esfahan, West Azerbaijan, and Kurdistan experienced the highest annual inflation growth, while Sistan and Baluchestan saw the lowest, with an annual inflation rate of 25%.Additionally, the prices of goods and services in August this year increased by 31.6% compared to August last year (point-to-point inflation).The highest point-to-point inflation in August was in Ilam, and the lowest was in Sistan and Baluchestan.Annual and point-to-point inflation rates in urban areas in August were higher than those in rural households.Last month, the highest price increase compared to August 2023 was in public transportation services, which saw a 54% jump, followed by housing and rent inflation, both of which were reported to be 43%.The Statistical Center’s report also claims that the price of oils and fats in August this year, compared to the same month last year, not only did not increase but actually decreased by 0.7%.This claim comes despite the fact that oils and fats, following red meat, have had the highest price increase among food items since March 2021, with a 278% rise in prices since then.Overall, the highest inflation rates since March 21, 2021, were recorded in the winter of 2022 and the spring of 2023, during which the Statistical Center and Central Bank suspended the publication of monthly inflation reports for several months.However, after the Statistical Center resumed the publication of monthly inflation reports last summer, it became clear that point-to-point inflation had exceeded 50% during those months.
