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U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Approve Measures Targeting Iran’s Regime

Sia Rajabi
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U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Approve Measures Targeting Iran’s Regime

In a resolute move showcasing bipartisan unity towards addressing the Iranian regime’s actions, the United States House of Representatives has endorsed the “21st Century Peace Through Strength Act,” spearheaded by Chairman Michael McCaul of the Foreign Affairs Committee. The bill, endorsed with a commanding majority of 361 votes in favor and 57 against, was subsequently passed in the Senate with a vote of 80 to 19.

The “21st Century Peace Through Strength Act” encompasses 15 sections, with a particular focus on countering the malign activities of the Iranian regime. If ratified by the Senate and endorsed by the U.S. President, this legislation will impose legally binding measures aimed at constraining the Iranian regime’s behavior.

  1. Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act (SHIP Act):

This bill aims to tighten sanctions targeting entities engaged in the sale and refining of Iranian oil. It seeks to bolster existing sanctions and close loopholes, extending its scope to foreign ports facilitating Iranian oil shipments, refineries processing Iranian oil, and individuals involved in the Iranian oil trade. Sponsored by Michael Lawler, the bill underscores U.S. policy to prevent Iran from engaging in destabilizing activities, supporting terrorism, and acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

  1. Fight and Combat Rampant Iranian Missile Exports Act (Fight CRIME Act):

Crafted to curb the Iranian regime’s illicit missile proliferation, this legislation imposes sanctions on individuals and entities involved in Tehran’s missile program. It strengthens international efforts to curb Iran’s ballistic missile ambitions, targeting those complicit in Iranian missile activities. The act emphasizes the urgent extension of missile restrictions outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and aims to prevent the transfer of weapons and technology to or from Iran.

  1. Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act):

This bill introduces severe sanctions against key figures in the Iranian regime, including Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi, for human rights violations and support for terrorism. Sanctioned entities include the Ministry of Intelligence, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and other affiliated offices. Representative Jim Banks, the bill’s sponsor, highlights Raisi’s involvement in the 1988 Death Commission as a significant reason for his sanctioning.

  1. No Technology for Terror Act:

This legislation aims to prevent the transfer of American technology used for repressive purposes to Iran. It imposes restrictions on exports or re-exports of goods and technology, particularly those utilized in missile development or against democratic movements. Representative Nathaniel Moran introduced the bill, emphasizing the importance of curbing Iran’s access to technology used in oppressive practices.

  1. Hold Iranian Leaders Accountable Act:

Seeking to enhance transparency regarding the financial assets of Iranian officials and affiliated terrorist groups, this bill strengthens accountability measures against regime leaders. Representative French Hill introduced the bill, emphasizing the need to hold Iranian leaders accountable for their actions.

  1. Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act Of 2023:

This bill imposes penalties on foreign financial institutions engaged in significant transactions with Iran’s energy sector, contributing to the regime’s economic isolation. Representative Michael Lawler introduced the legislation, aiming to deter foreign entities from supporting Iran’s energy sector, thereby undermining the regime’s economic stability.

The potential ratification of H.R.8038 and its accompanying amendments heralds a significant shift in the U.S. government’s approach to the Iranian regime, signaling a firm stance against its destabilizing activities and human rights violations.

Grossi: Iran Weeks Away from Having Enough Enriched Uranium for Atomic Bomb

Mehdi Hosseini
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Grossi: Iran Weeks Away from Having Enough Enriched Uranium for Atomic Bomb

Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has stated that Iran is just weeks rather than months away from possessing enough enriched uranium to produce a nuclear bomb.

According to Grossi, while uranium enrichment at levels close to weapons-grade is concerning, it does not directly imply that Iran currently possesses nuclear weapons.

In an interview with Deutsche Welle published on Tuesday, April 23, Grossi stated that a “functional nuclear warhead requires many other things independently from the production of the fissile material”.

The IAEA Director General referred to Iran’s actions as fueling these speculations and stated that the agency does not have satisfactory access to monitor Tehran’s nuclear program, leading to increased speculation about Tehran’s program.

Grossi has repeatedly warned Iranian counterparts about sensitivities arising from the agency’s lack of access to Tehran’s activities.

“I have been telling my Iranian counterparts time and again […] this activity raises eyebrows and compounded with the fact that we are not getting the necessary degree of access and visibility that I believe should be necessary,” he said. 

Referring to the discovery of enriched uranium materials in unrelated locations, Grossi said that this issue has also intensified doubts about Tehran’s transparency.

Grossi, noting that he will soon travel to Iran for a new round of talks, stated that his message to Iranians is that they should cooperate more with the agency.

There have been many speculations about whether Iran’s nuclear facilities are one of Israel’s military targets, and even Grossi recently stated, referring to Israel’s targeting of Iraq’s nuclear facilities in 1981, that the agency does not want to repeat the Iraq experience and if Iran continues to resist transparency and inspection, the IAEA might reach a point where it will refrain from providing credible assurance that it is absolutely certain Iran’s nuclear activities are entirely peaceful.

In the past two years, 8 million people added to Iran’s poor population

Mehdi Hosseini
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In the past two years, 8 million people added to Iran’s poor population

According to information analyzed by the state-run Etemad newspaper regarding poverty rate data, a 10% increase in the poverty rate over two years translates to approximately 8 million more people falling into poverty in the country.

Etemad notes the likelihood of middle-class families falling below the poverty line has increased, and the capacity to finance budget resources has decreased among the middle-class population.

In its Tuesday edition, Etemad, in an article titled “Budget 2024: Incapable of Obliterating Poverty,” citing analysis from the regime’s Majlis (Parliament) Research Center on the budget’s capabilities to combat poverty, states that approximately 50% more people have been added to the poverty population since 2017.

Referring to the calculations of the Parliament Research Center, which estimated the absolute poverty line per capita in 2022 to be around 25.610 million rials (approximately $40), Etemad writes that based on inflation data from the past year, the estimated per capita poverty line for the first quarter of 2024 is around 37.40 million rials (approximately $58). The poverty line for a three-member household was estimated at around 56.34 million rials (approximately $87.5) for 2022 and 82.32 million rials (approximately $128) for 2023.

Etemad points out that middle-class individuals have had an average income of about 1.6 times the poverty line since 2018 and have approached the poverty line. It emphasizes the increasing likelihood of non-poor individuals falling below the poverty line, reducing the capacity to finance budget resources among the non-poor population.

In March 2024, the regime’s Eghtesad 24 website reported on the poverty situation in Iranian society, stating, “Almost one out of every three Iranians is below the poverty line, and when 30% of the population is below the poverty line, by March 21 (the beginning of the Iranian new year), this figure reaches 37 to 40 percent, because of high inflation and fixed wages.”

Etemad’s report, referring to the decreasing efficiency of government budgets to combat poverty, stated that what emerges from the image of poverty among Iranians in the 2010s is a decrease in the general welfare of society.

Etemad describes the established taxes in the country as undesirable and writes that the imposition of an undesirable tax can exacerbate poverty and increase the population of poor people in the country.

Another issue addressed in this report is the decrease in per capita public budget of the country. It notes that when the per capita public budget decreases, naturally, allocations for all budgetary matters decrease to some extent.

When the per capita general budget decreases in 2024 to the level of 2011, which has around 10 million more poor people than in 2011.

Based on statistics indicating that 30% of the country’s population has fallen below the poverty line and that the middle class has also significantly approached the poverty line, Etemad wrote: “After 2020, the budget had an expansionary approach relative to the population, so that ultimately, based on estimated data, it will reach the level of 2011 by 2024. The per capita public budget for each Iranian will be around 50 million rials (approximately $77.5) in 2024.”

However, in terms of policy-making for poverty reduction, while the per capita public budget in 2024 will reach the level of 2011, the population of those living in poverty in the country is approximately 10 million more than in 2011.

In recent years, under the inefficiency of the Iranian regime in managing the country’s economy, many reports have been published on the significant increase in poverty and the inappropriate economic situation of the people in Iran.

On April 7, Ham-Mihan newspaper, quoting trade union units, reported an increase in food theft from Iranian stores and stated that rising prices and increased hunger among the people are among the reasons for this.

On March 26, Tejarat News wrote in a report that teenagers and 20-year-olds are selling their kidneys, livers, and bone marrow to meet their financial needs.

Iran: 9 Prisoners Executed in One Day

Esmaeil Mohades
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Iran: 9 Prisoners Executed in One Day

The Iranian regime executed five prisoners in Kerman prison and two prisoners in Chabahar prison on April 21. At the same time, two other prisoners were executed in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj. These nine prisoners had been sentenced to death separately on charges related to drug trafficking.

Seven prisoners were sentenced to death for drug-related charges and were transferred to solitary confinement on April 19 for execution.

They met with their families for the last time on April 20 in Kerman and Chabahar prisons and were executed on Sunday morning.

In another case, the Iranian regime executed two prisoners in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj.

The identities of these two prisoners are stated as Alireza Shahbaz, 38, from Tehran, and Ali Jafar Taheri from Delphan.

These two prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement for execution on April 20. They were sentenced to death for drug-related charges.

In the past 10 days, an alarming wave of executions has begun in Iran, and it seems that the Iranian regime has increased the execution of prisoners under the shadow of news related to its war with Israel and the world community’s distraction from the executions.

According to reports from human rights sources, between April 11 and 19, at least 19 prisoners were executed in Urmia, Karaj, Mashhad, Ahvaz, Tabriz, Hamedan, Isfahan, and Zanjan prisons.

Amnesty International reported on April 4 in an investigative report entitled “Don’t Let Them Kill Us” that 853 people were executed in Iran in 2023, calling it unprecedented in the past eight years.

According to this report, 481 executions, more than half of the total registered executions, were related to drug crimes.

This figure represents an 89% increase compared to 2022, when 255 people were executed for drug-related crimes, and a 264% increase compared to 2021, when 132 people were executed for these crimes.

Iran’s Regime Publishes Misleading Information About Unemployment Rate

Jubin Katiraie
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Iran’s Regime Publishes Misleading Information About Unemployment Rate

The state-run Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper has criticized the “statistic manipulation” employed by Iran’s regime in its economic reports, stating that the inaccurate data presented by the government regarding the reduction in unemployment will not change anything.

The newspaper emphasizes that the claimed reduction in the unemployment rate has had no impact on the country’s economic growth and is not tangible in people’s lives.

This report refers to the latest report from the Employment Assistant of the Minister of Labor, which announced a 41.3 percent labor force participation rate in autumn 2023 and an 8.1 percent overall unemployment rate in 2023.

Donya-e-Eqtesad writes that statistically and based on the formula provided, the unemployment rate can decrease for two reasons: if individuals searching for jobs eventually find employment or if individuals become discouraged from job searching and withdraw from the process.

In this context, the report mentions “official statistics” published by the government’s Statistical Center and emphasizes that “educated individuals who have been seeking suitable employment corresponding to their qualifications or at least somewhat related to them to the extent that they have officially ceased their job search” are considered by the government as exiting the actively seeking employment population, which affects the employment statistics.

The newspaper also addresses the crisis of unemployment among educated women, stating that more than 40 percent of the unemployed population in the country hold university degrees. Currently, only about 11 percent of the labor force participation rate consists of women, meaning approximately 89 percent of Iranian women over the age of 15 are unemployed.

The report stresses how, in the current economic conditions witnessing such figures in the labor market, it is implausible for the unemployment rate to have perceptibly decreased.

In this regard, the Tasnim News Agency, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), announced on April 2 in a report that the share of graduates in unemployment in winter 2024 was 39 percent and stated that the examination of the unemployment rate among the population aged 15 and over with higher education showed that 11.6 percent of the actively seeking graduate population were unemployed.

Tasnim also emphasized that this rate was higher among women compared to men and in rural areas compared to urban areas.

Tasnim stressed that the unemployment of university graduates has reached a deadlock, and even those with doctoral degrees have been forced to take jobs unrelated to their qualifications to escape unemployment.

Additionally, the regime’s Tajarat News website wrote on January 13 that reports from the Technical and Vocational Organization indicate that 40 percent of skill-seekers are university graduates.

Eghtesad News also reported on March 22 that data from Iran’s Statistical Center shows that the youth unemployment rate in the age group of 15 to 24 is higher than the country’s overall unemployment rate, with one of the reasons being the constraint of reconciling work hours and education.

Furthermore, the Eco Iran website stated in a report that in spring 2005, the unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 24 was equivalent to 24 percent, and in winter 2010, the unemployment rate among this age group exceeded 31 percent, marking the highest unemployment rate recorded in the past 19 years.

Eco Iran also wrote in October 2023, based on official statistics, that the active population in summer 2023 had reached nearly 26.8 million people, and investigations showed that this summer, 2.115 million individuals were unable to find employment and were considered unemployed.

Iranian regime President Ebrahim Raisi has been promising to create “a million jobs a year” since early June 2021 during his presidential campaign, a slogan that has been repeated by his labor minister, Sowlat Mortazavi, and has faced considerable criticism.

Experts have repeatedly emphasized that governments in Iran manipulate indicators or shift temporal bases, effectively resorting to statistical manipulation to “achieve success.”

Regime Authorities Prevent Students From Entering Tehran Polytechnic University

Hoshang Amiri
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Regime Authorities Prevent Students From Entering Tehran Polytechnic University

Simultaneously with the implementation of the “Noor Plan” in Iran, which started on Saturday, April 20, to deal with society’s resistance to hijab, student media reported intensified crackdowns on students under the pretext of not having “appropriate hijab.”

The Amir Kabir newsletter reported that from the early hours of Saturday, crackdowns on Amir Kabir students have reached their highest level in the past ten years.

It has been announced that only at one entrance, more than 20 students were prevented from entering due to what is considered “inappropriate clothing,” and similar situations have been reported at other entrances of the university.

The Amir Kabir newsletter stated that Amir Kabir security agents force female students deemed to have “inappropriate clothing” to wear a chador before being permitted to enter the university.

Earlier on April 10, reports from Al-Zahra University indicated an “increase in campus security” and the installation of “facial recognition cameras” at the entrance and exit of the university in Tehran.

Furthermore, threatening text messages regarding hijab compliance have been sent to students of Malayer University (western Iran).

Pressure on students in Iran has intensified since the nationwide protests of 2022 to the extent that student news sources reported in late September 2023 the establishment of “hijab patrols (morality police)” at Tehran University and the obligation for students to wear “full hijab and long mantles” down to “below the knee.”

On the other hand, the bill passed by the parliament under the title of “Chastity and Hijab” also emphasizes that a “database of students” should be made available to the State Security Forces to identify individuals who violate hijab standards.

In this regard, on September 20, 2023, the latest “Executive Code of Conduct and Professional Attire” for medical students and interns for the academic year 2024-2023 was published.

The code stipulated that “any short or tight clothing, open-front mantles, silk fabric, lace, or attire revealing the body is prohibited.”

It also emphasized that one must be covered with a “long cloak (to below the shoulders) of appropriate thickness covering all hair and the neckline of the garment.” The use of thin and short scarves, shawls alone, or hair protruding from the front or back of the cloak is also “prohibited.”

The code also stressed that “nail extensions” and any makeup or nail polish that “attracts the attention” of others are prohibited.

Iran’s Regime Very Close to Producing Nuclear Bombs, IAEA Director Warns

Esmaeil Mohades
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Iran’s Regime Very Close to Producing Nuclear Bombs, IAEA Director Warns

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told Germany’s state-run network ARD television network in Vienna that since the failure of nuclear negotiations, Iran has significantly approached nuclear bomb production.

He announced that no country without an atomic bomb enriches uranium to 60%, adding that Iran has produced enriched uranium in volumes beyond what is needed for nuclear bomb production.

In this conversation published on April 19, he noted that while 90% enrichment is necessary for a nuclear bomb, technically 60% is almost the same as 90%.

The Director General of the IAEA emphasized that the international community must do everything to prevent Iran from this.

Rafael Grossi had previously stated that the Iranian regime is increasing its nuclear capabilities, and although the IAEA is carrying out inspections, these inspections are not sufficient.

Grossi announced on Monday, April 15, the temporary suspension of inspections of Iran’s facilities due to concerns about Israel’s retaliatory attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and said these inspections would resume on Tuesday.

In an interview with PBS on March 29, Grossi emphasized that Iran’s regime’s tendency towards maximum enrichment is worrying, although Iran’s nuclear program is very complex and has various aspects.

Rafael Grossi highlighted that inspectors of the agency should be able to carry out their inspection duties with full authority, but currently inspections are not being conducted to the extent and depth required by the nature of the atomic program.

Grossi also said that he has warned Iranian authorities to restart the inspection process from scratch.

He expressed concern and warned that the agency is the only point of contact trying to bring the parties closer together and report on what is happening there. Grossi emphasized that the IAEA is diligently following the case and expects ‘negotiation and diplomacy’ to get involved.

On March 7, the United States warned the Iranian government that the continuation of “stonewalling” regarding cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency sets the stage for further action by the IAEA Board of Governors, including the possibility of issuing more resolutions against Tehran.

In the quarterly meeting of the Board of Governors attended by 35 members, the United States asked the Iranian regime to cooperate with the agency’s inspectors, who have long demanded explanations from the Iranian government about the origin of uranium particles at some undeclared sites.

Iranian Women’s Resistance: Beyond the Veil of Hijab Enforcement

Jubin Katiraie
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Iranian Women’s Resistance: Beyond the Veil of Hijab Enforcement

These days streets and alleys of Iran are witnessing the harassment and persecution of women by police patrols under the pretext of hijab. TheState Security Forces (SSF) arrest and disrespect Iranian women, and in some cases, violently apprehend them for not wearing hijab.

Reports indicate violent encounters by the government to detain women under the pretext of improper hijab in Iranian cities. During arrests, SSF use many plain clothes agents to prevent people from rescuing women.

Furthermore, SSF troops take women into police vans, and expose them to sexual insults, violence, assault, and harassment.

When the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, appointed Ebrahim Raisi as president in March 2021, he had a specific goal in mind: the survival of the regime through contraction in foreign policy and increased internal suppression. Khamenei chose Raisi, who has been involved in all the crimes of this regime, including the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988, as the best option to advance this policy.

The Iranian regime faced a nationwide uprising by the people in 2022, where women and girls played a leading role in organizing and directing scenes.

The protests began with the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. The regime’s morality police arrested her on September 13, 2022, for allegedly improperly wearing a hijab, the mandatory head covering imposed upon Iran’s women. Two hours after her arrest, she was taken to a hospital where, three days later, she succumbed to skull injuries that had been sustained during her detention.

Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards are not particularly concerned about the end of the 2022 uprising; they are more concerned about how to return the situation to its previous balance to distance themselves from the uprising.

Launching the war in Gaza was part of this survival strategy for Khamenei. However, in practice, we saw the equation reversed, and he found himself trapped. Therefore, Khamenei sees no solution other than expanding the scope of suppression once again.

Women and girls in Iran play a leading role in the struggle against the regime because they are disproportionately subjected to religious dictatorship and intimidation.

A religious dictatorship thrives only by creating fear and terror.

Khamenei recently issued orders to suppress, under the pretext of combating “religious deviation,” to a force called “Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil.” Following that, the Tehran Police Command announced that “the hijab and chastity plan will be pursued more vigorously in all public streets and places.”

The Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and police forces have been stationed in various squares of Tehran and other cities since April 13 to implement the plan and arrest women under the pretext of improper hijab.

Simultaneously with the squares of the cities, they intensified the suppression in universities.

Khamenei’s resort to violence is a response to his failure in the Gaza war and his defeat in the staged elections to curb society’s demands. Therefore, the issue is not “hijab and chastity” as claimed by the government, but rather the resistance and liberation of Iranian women.

Across the globe, everyone now knows that the snake’s head is in Tehran. This will help strengthen the uprising and the people’s movement in Iran. That’s why Khamenei is trying to cover his international and regional failures by intensifying internal suppression.

The freedom of women depends solely on comprehensive resistance and struggle, and Iranian women must stand up against this suppression and not allow the ruling regime in Iran to achieve its intention of prolonging its lifespan.

Fabricated Statistics in Iran’s Economy

Hoshang Amiri
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Fabricated Statistics in Iran’s Economy

While Iranian regime President Ebrahim Raisi and the government’s economic team accuse critics of ignorance and fabricating statistics, Farshad Momeni, an economist who highlights the contradictions of the government, has labeled the statistics presented by the government as “fabricated” and states that the continuation of this trend will lead to further economic weakness and “erosion of legitimacy.”

Momeni told the regime’s semiofficial ILNA news agency, “The country’s vulnerability to poverty has increased, and in a three-year period at the end of the 2010s, the size of Iran’s poor population tripled.”

Momeni, criticizing the presentation of fabricated statistics, referred to claims of quality growth in the past three years by the government spokesperson and said, “Denying and ignoring problems does not solve them.”

At the same time, Jabbar Kuchaki Nejad, a member of the Majlis (parliament) Planning and Budget Commission, told the regime’s Khabar Online website on April 16 that “the analyses and statistics provided by the government’s economic team are unrealistic.”

Kuchaki Nejad, citing government statistics manipulation and the inefficiency of the economic team, called for the dismissal of all individuals from the vice president to all ministers, advisors, and economic managers of the government.

However, the government continues its course and seeks to align parliamentarians with itself. In this regard, after the increase in exchange rate fluctuations and the record registration of 700,000 rials for a dollar, Raisi’s parliamentary deputy considered the remarks and criticisms of parliamentarians contrary to the predictions of economic experts and the explicit statements of central bank managers as unfounded and asked them to refer to “government statistics” in their opinions.

In a statement, this parliamentary deputy attacked the government critics and representatives who have reported on the government’s “statistical manipulation” saying, “If only such individuals would benefit from media literacy training to know that casting doubt on the country’s official statistics is one of the opposing media’s tricks to avoid inadvertently playing into the enemy’s media puzzle.”

Raisi’s parliamentary deputy also referred critics to the statements of the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei and wrote: “How can a respected member of parliament who should be aware of the resolutions and actions be unaware of the country’s official statistics or pretend to be so and be unaware of the emphasis of the leadership in disseminating the positive achievements of the government and the system, and strengthening hope and avoiding creating despair among the people?”

Economic analysts believe that this deputy is clearly targeting those who have questioned the government’s statistics against Ali Khamenei to prevent the continued questioning of the statistics by creating a climate of fear of security consequences.

This trend in the economy and the government’s efforts to align experts and parliamentarians in the dissemination of fabricated statistics come while Ebrahim Raisi said in April 2013 in a meeting with economic activists: “We are not seeking statistical manipulation in the economy; the clearer the figures, the better the people can engage in economic activities.”

These statements by Ebrahim Raisi were, in fact, a response to criticisms that peaked in 2022, and statistical manipulation was one of the main axes of criticism.

Criticism of the government’s statistical manipulation somewhat turned into a media war between the parliament news agency (ICANA) news agency, which is under the supervision of the parliament, and the government’s official news agency, IRNA.

On this basis, in the media war between IRNA and ICANA, this statistical manipulation became more apparent, and ICANA accused IRNA of fabricating statistics for the government.

However, this statistical manipulation also led to controversies and inconsistencies. In this regard, in one instance, Ali Bahadori Jahromi, the spokesperson for the government, said on March 14, 2023: More than 2,000 factories such as Mazandaran Textile, Hepco, and Bafq Steel became operational this year.

However, Raisi, without being informed of the statistics presented by the spokesperson, announced a week later that the number of revived factories in 2022 was “more than 3,000.”

Iran’s Teachers Working at Low Wages and Without Insurance

Mehdi Hosseini
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Iran’s Teachers Working at Low Wages and Without Insurance

While pressures on teachers’ activists by the Iranian regime continue, the regime’s Ham-Mihan newspaper has published a report examining the livelihood problems of teachers, with accounts of “insignificant wages, lack of job security, and teacher labor” being published.

In the report published on April 16, emphasis was placed on the “more critical conditions” of teachers’ “services procurement and contract teachers,” with teachers teaching in “deprived areas” having minimal rights that are paid “irregularly,” and “their insurance rights, if not formally employed, are not fully paid.”

According to this report, the wages of these teachers “sometimes do not even reach 80 million rials (approximately $122), and even this small amount is paid after several months with significant delays.”

According to the report, the current situation of teachers contradicts the promises of Reza Moradi Sahraei, the regime’s Minister of Education, who had previously stated that “with the implementation of the teacher ranking law, a minimum of 26 percent will be added to each teacher’s salary.”

The newspaper, by recalling that the education ministry uses retired teachers as contract teachers, has stated that this ministry compensates for its shortage by using retirees “at the lowest cost.”

The report quotes a teacher named Maryam as saying: “The Ministry of Education procrastinates in paying our salaries in a way that from the beginning of the academic year (after 7 months), they have only paid three months of our salary, and it is unclear when the rest of our salary will be paid. What was paid to me by the school principal was 50 million rials (approximately $77) per month, a very small amount for regular working hours.”

According to this teacher, “many teachers, due to the Ministry of Education’s behavior, have abandoned their classes, as there is no guarantee that their salaries will be paid.”

Another teacher named Mohammad, residing in Sistan and Baluchestan province, who has been working as a “services procurement and contractual teachers” in elementary school for 9 years, said that due to “difficult living conditions,” he also works as a “part-time assistant” to support his family of five.

Another teacher named Sima in this province stated that although she has been working for 9 years, “only four years’ worth of insurance has been paid for her,” meaning “insurance rights are only paid for two to three months each academic year.”

Hossein, another teacher interviewed by Ham-Mihan, who has “11 years of teaching experience,” said, “In these years, only four and a half years of our insurance has been paid. The Ministry of Education does not address this issue,” and he is forced to do “transportation” to support his family expenses.

According to this teacher, who works in Jaz Murian city, Kerman province (central Iran), one of his colleagues “passed away due to illness because he could not afford his medical expenses due to lack of insurance and sufficient salary.”

Similar experiences of other teachers are also mentioned in this report.

Reports of increasing poverty, shrinking teachers’ livelihoods, and violation of their rights by the Ministry of Education come at a time when the regime’s security and judicial crackdown on teachers and their unions has intensified since last year.

These crackdowns have prompted criticisms from teachers’ and workers’ unions worldwide.

According to a previous report by the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Guilds, in 2023, 12 activists of teachers’ unions have been expelled and another 26 have received compulsory retirement sentences.

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