While global statistics indicate that an annual subsidence of more than four millimeters signifies entering a critical condition, reports show that the average annual land subsidence in Iran has reached “18 centimeters, with subsidence in 14 provinces exceeding 10 centimeters.”
At the same time, a government official in Iran stated that the excavation of numerous wells and excessive water extraction in the vicinity of the Marvdasht plain have caused “land subsidence in the Persepolis area.”
According to a land subsidence index table published by the state-run Tejarat News website, the annual land subsidence exceeds 20 centimeters in the provinces of Kerman, Alborz, Markazi, Qom, Khorasan, and Hamedan.
Additionally, in Fars and Isfahan provinces, the annual land subsidence reaches 16.5 and 15 centimeters, respectively.
Tejarat News has reported that the average annual land subsidence in Iran “has reached 18 centimeters, with subsidence in 14 provinces exceeding 10 centimeters.”
On the other hand, the deputy director of the Fars Provincial Department of Environmental Protection warned about land subsidence in the Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rostam areas, stating that the main reason for the subsidence in these areas is the “excavation of numerous wells and excessive water extraction in the vicinity of the Marvdasht plain.”
Qasem Nahavandi added that the underground water tables cover a wide area, and with their depletion, “Naqsh-e Rostam is also at risk.”
The construction of numerous dams without considering environmental consequences and the excessive extraction of groundwater have been identified as the main causes of land subsidence in Iran.
Nevertheless, despite the depletion of groundwater resources and the endangerment of life in Iran’s climate, the Iranian regime continues to insist on goals such as self-sufficiency in agricultural production and population growth.
Two pharmaceutical companies in Iran have received permission from the Food and Drug Administration to increase the prices of seven and 10 of their products by up to 50 percent. With the addition of four other companies that had previously received similar approval, a total of six major pharmaceutical companies are now raising the prices of their products.
According to information released by the Stock Exchange, Pars Pharmaceutical announced that the selling prices of seven active items of its products have been increased based on the attached document with the approval of the Food and Drug Administration.
Zahravi Pharmaceutical also announced that the prices of some of its products have been adjusted by 7 to 50 percent by the Food and Drug Administration due to the increase in the cost of production.
The increase in drug prices in Iran comes at a time when pharmaceutical inflation over the past three years has caused significant problems for patients. Issues in the production, supply, and distribution of drugs persist, and it is predicted that the country will face a severe drug shortage in the second half of the Persian calendar year (starting from September 22).
In this context, Abbas Ebadi, Deputy Minister of Nursing at the Ministry of Health, stated on Wednesday, August 28, that addressing the drug situation and paying the overdue salaries of health system staff, especially nurses, are two priority programs considered by the Ministry of Health.
The issues in the healthcare sector, particularly in drug supply, in recent years have led the regime’s Health Commission of the Majlis (Parliament) to investigate the reasons behind drug shortages and the high prices of medical supplies. However, after reading the report prepared on April 23, the representatives opposed referring the matter to the judiciary.
The Research Center of the Iranian regime’s Parliament (Majlis) has reported a significant recession in the country’s industries during the first month of summer electricity supply restrictions. It states that in July of this year, industrial enterprises experienced a deeper recession in terms of production and sales indices compared to the spring season.
Data from the Majlis’s Research Center report shows that in the first month of this summer, the sales index decreased more than the production index, indicating a worsening crisis of effective demand in Iran’s economy.
The state-run newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad, citing this report, wrote: “The continuation of the current situation will cause more enterprises to operate at half of their production capacity, which will gradually decrease, ultimately putting them at risk of closure.”
According to this report, in July 2024, the production and sales indices of stock-listed industrial companies not only decreased by 8% and 10%, respectively, compared to the previous month, but also dropped by 3.5% and 5.4%, respectively, compared to July of the previous year. This indicates that the industrial sector’s recession is due to factors beyond just the summer electricity shortages.
The recession in the industrial sector in July occurred while the electricity shortage in August and September is much more severe than in July. It is expected that industrial production and sales have plunged even further last month; indeed, in August this year, the stock market saw a decline in the balance index of 29 out of 30 major industries listed on the stock exchange.
As power outages continue in various cities across Iran due to electricity shortages, on Monday, July 26, a union official announced that power cuts in some industrial areas of Tehran have led to street protests.
Mehdi Bostanchi, the head of the Industrial Towns Coordination Council, wrote: “Yesterday, street protests occurred in the Khavaran Industrial Town due to power outage.”
Details from the Majlis’s Research Center report show that the pharmaceutical sector experienced a 17% decline in production in July.
In recent months, numerous reports have emerged about the dire state of the pharmaceutical sector, including large overdue government debts to this sector, insufficient allocation of foreign currency for importing raw materials for medicines, cash flow shortages in pharmaceutical companies, and even power outages affecting these facilities.
The food and beverage sector has also experienced a decline of over 10%.
The Majlis’s Research Center states that in July 2024, out of fifteen stock-listed industrial activities, only four saw an increase in the sales index, and six had an increase in the production index.
Central Bank data shows that last year, the industrial sector contributed only 0.7% to the 4.5% economic growth.
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 payment
In 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.
