Evaz Heydarpour, a physician and former member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), stated that every day we hear about “a professor or associate professor of medical schools” migrating. He told the regime’s “Khabar Online” website: “Every year, 10,000 individuals from the Iranian medical workforce (physicians, nurses, midwives) migrate.”

He declared that the “best geriatric specialists” are leaving the country due to the wave of migrating doctors. Heydarpour added, “If I were the Minister of Health and witnessed this number of doctors migrating every day, I would resign.”

An advisor to the Minister of Health and Medical Education of the Iranian regime, citing the “Youth, Population, and Family Support Law,” announced that the country’s healthcare system is facing a shortage of 20,000 midwives.

Shahla Khosravi, an advisor to the Minister of Health and Medical Education of the Iranian regime, stated on September 10 to the semiofficial ISNA news agency that the treatment sector requires “12,000 midwives,” and the health sector also needs “8,000 midwives.”

Reza Laripour, the spokesperson for the regime’s Medical Council, had previously stated on September 3 that the “migration of the medical community” had doubled compared to the years before the coronavirus pandemic, and now Iran sends doctors to five continents.

The increase in the migration trend of Iranian healthcare professionals is due to dissatisfaction with the current situation and the disorder in the country’s affairs. During recent years, they have faced intensified confrontation by security and military institutions due to their declarations of opposition, expression of protest, or treatment of injured protesters. Some have also been killed by the Iranian regime’s repressive forces.

Professional and economic pressures on nurses in Iran continue, and the latest report from the semiofficial ILNA news agency highlights the issue of low rates of “mandatory overtime.” According to the report, nurses are required to work 130 hours of overtime for a payment of 19 million rials (approximately $37.25).

The news agency quotes members of the “Nurse House” who state that “nurses work overtime every month according to their duty hours, but the amount they receive is very insignificant.”

Based on an “overtime work deposit” text message, a nurse mentioned in the ILNA report that after several months of delay, the February overtime payment was 19 million rials for 130 hours.

The situation of nurses’ rights and wages has been one of the challenging issues since the beginning of the year. On April 16, the state-run Etemad newspaper quoted a nurse who said that for every 197 duty hours and 155 overtime hours in a month, they received approximately 18 million rials (approximately $35.29) as the nursing service fee.

In March, the continuation of discriminatory and “illegal” payments to Iranian nurses led to protests. Nurses in various provinces held protest gatherings.

In this regard, the Free Workers’ Union of Iran reported on April 17 that nurses in five provinces gathered in protest against the “government’s violation of nursing fees” and chanted slogans calling for the resignation of the “incompetent minister.”

The dire conditions for nurses and the failure to meet their minimum demands ultimately led to the President of the Iranian Nursing Organization mentioning on September 18 that the necessary “attraction and retention” conditions for nurses in the country were not being met and that “five to six Iranian nurses” are migrating daily.

Mohammad Mirzabeygi, speaking about the migration of nurses to the ILNA news agency, stated that between “100 to 150 nurses” migrate abroad monthly, which is a matter of concern for the country.

The Mullahs’ regime’s four-decade rule has plunged Iranian society into a web of crises, some of which have reached catastrophic proportions. While it’s challenging to quantify the exact number of crises, experts in social economics within the regime have identified at least seven mega-crises. These encompass issues such as pensions, bank failures, insurance, water and environmental concerns, energy shortages, hyperinflation, and investment pitfalls. Occasionally, additional crises like government debts, the non-oil economy, and unemployment are added to the list, further accentuating the grim statistics.

What’s noteworthy in this context is the intricate interplay and mutual influence of these mega-crises on each other. For instance, inflation and the worsening poverty rate are intimately connected, with rising inflation pushing more families below the poverty line every day. The colossal bank bankruptcy crisis, akin to an iceberg of unknown depth and size, is directly linked to the government’s mounting debts. The government, often portrayed by the regime’s media as treating banks like inexhaustible piggy banks, is ironically the largest debtor within the Iranian banking system.

Moreover, the super-aging crisis is inextricably linked to the pension crisis, with both issues surging in parallel. The aging population is further exacerbating the retirement crisis.

Pension funds represent the sole source of financial security for hardworking individuals who have diligently saved over the years. However, almost all of Iran’s 18 pension funds find themselves in dire straits. Despite legal constraints against withdrawing funds except for retirees’ monthly payments, these funds have become susceptible to theft and embezzlement under the rule of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

A glaring example is the grand embezzlement within the cultural reserve fund, initially reported as an 8 trillion rial corruption case, later revised to 15 trillion rials, and ultimately settled at 14 trillion rials. To understand the culprits behind this astronomical embezzlement, one needs to consider that this fund comprises four holdings in ‘petrochemical and energy, finance and investment, construction and services,’ encompassing over 30 companies in total.

When petrochemicals are mentioned, it’s impossible to overlook the close ties between the IRGC and petrochemical holdings, exemplifying the reach of this entity into every corner of the country’s economy, bolstered by Khamenei’s unwavering support.

Retirees have consistently taken to the streets in recent years to assert their rights. Their protests, borne out of frustration with the government’s indifference to their pleas and legal requests, symbolize an ongoing uprising among the Iranian people. Recognizing that they make no progress within the confines of the government’s bureaucracy, they have adopted the slogan ‘only on the street, we will get our rights’ and united their demands with those of other segments of Iranian society. In recent days, cities across the country have witnessed retiree gatherings.

The state-run daily Ham-mihan aptly states, “None of Iran’s major challenges, including the formidable pension fund crisis, can be resolved in isolation. These mega-challenges are so interconnected that expert methods alone cannot tackle them. They demand comprehensive political solutions. Without such solutions, these crises will only deepen and broaden, rendering conventional remedies increasingly limited and ineffective.”

Therefore, the mega-crisis surrounding retirees and their depleted funds, a consequence of mullah-led embezzlement, finds no resolution within the corrupt structure. Not long ago, a social insurance manager suggested a disturbing solution: “We may have to sell Qeshm and Kish [islands] to pay retirees’ salaries.”

An official news agency affiliated with the Iranian regime, in a report that was later deleted, announced that Armita Geravand‘s “vital signs” have “changed and deteriorated to some extent” in the past few days.

On October 1^st, the 16-year-old schoolgirl was transferred outside a Tehran subway car while unconscious, moments after entering the subway with her friends. A video released by the Tehran Subway company shows that shortly after Armita Geravand entered the subway car, she was transferred outside by several individuals while she was unconscious. However, news circulating on social media suggests that security agents pushed her because she was not wearing a hijab, resulting in her head hitting a metal bar and becoming unconscious. After the incident, she was transferred to Tehran’s Fajr Hospital, and no one is allowed to approach her.

The regime’s Borna news agency, affiliated with the Ministry of Sports and Youth, announced on October 11 in a brief report based on its “journalist’s investigations” and despite “the continuous efforts of the medical staff at Fajr Hospital” that Armita Geravand’s “relatively stable vital signs have changed and deteriorated to some extent in the past few days.”

Borna later removed this news from its various platforms after its publication. The news agency also stated that “the medical team’s efforts to improve” the condition of this 16-year-old student “are still ongoing.”

Despite the removal of this report, some domestic media outlets in Iran, including regime’s Khabar Online news website, have published this report, quoting the Borna news agency.

In the latest reactions of the regime’s officials regarding Armita’s incident in the Tehran subway, Ahmad Vahidi, the regime’s Minister of Interior, said: “This issue is completely clear and obvious. It was an accident that could happen every day anywhere in the country. The enemies of the country do not want the atmosphere of our country to be calm. They tried to create chaos.”

Armita Geravand, a 16-year-old student who was going to school with two of her friends on October 1, collided with an iron pole as a result of being pushed by a Morality Police officer at the “Shohada” metro station and fell into a state of coma. She has been hospitalized in Fajr Hospital, affiliated with the Army Medical Sciences University, under “security” conditions for the past 11 days.

According to reports, Armita Geravand’s friends and family have been threatened not to speak to any media unless authorized by the authorities.

The area surrounding Fajr Hospital is under “strict security,” and plainclothes forces are stationed there.

Michael McCaul, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, expressed concern about the attack on Armita Geravand and, while expressing disgust, considered it similar to an attack that led to the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini a year ago, which led to nationwide protests.

The regime’s morality police arrested her on September 13 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.

In addition, Amnesty International also criticized the “cover-up” by the Iranian regime and called for an independent international investigation into the “serious injury” of Armita Geravand. Raha Bahreini, a researcher for the organization, told Voice of America that there is serious concern that this schoolgirl has also become a victim of forced hijab violence.

Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, in a message posted on X, said, “The Iranian regime continues to prove itself as a ruthless and autocratic state with no regard for its own citizens.”

Iran’s morality police returned to the streets earlier this year to enforce mandatory veiling laws.

Amnesty International wrote in a report dated July 26, 2023: “The Iranian authorities are doubling down on their oppressive methods of policing and severely oppressing Iranian women and girls for defying degrading compulsory veiling laws. Countless women have been suspended or expelled from universities, barred from sitting final exams, and denied access to banking services and public transport. Hundreds of businesses have been forcibly closed for not enforcing compulsory veiling. The intensified crackdown exposes the dubious nature of the Iranian authorities’ previous claims of disbanding the ‘morality’ police, amid contradictory official statements over its return to Iranian streets.”

In a report, the non-governmental organization Freedom House announced that Iran had the worst decline in internet freedom worldwide in 2023, with a score of negative five out of 100 on the scale. The report indicates that digital repression in the country has intensified.

According to the report, following the murder of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the custody of the “Morality Police,” the Iranian regime experienced the greatest regression in internet freedom evaluation worldwide. This regression was attributed to the internet shutdown, blocking of WhatsApp and Instagram, increased surveillance, and monitoring to suppress anti-government protests.

Furthermore, Iran, along with Myanmar, was identified as a country where authorities have imposed the death penalty for citizens expressing their opinions online. The report also mentioned the execution of two Iranians for blasphemy following the publication of materials on Telegram channels.

The report highlights the cases of Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare, two active social media users who were executed on May 8th on charges of “insulting Islamic sanctities” and insulting the “Prophet of Islam”. Human rights sources emphasized that these individuals were merely criticizing religious superstitions.

The state-run Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the regime’s judiciary, reported the execution of these two individuals, stating that Yousef Mehrdad was arrested in Ardebil and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare was arrested in Yasuj, both after the formation of a case in the Revolutionary Court in Arak in 2020. Yousef Mehrdad was the father of three young children, and Sadrollah Fazeli was the caretaker of his elderly mother.

According to the report, in terms of the decline in internet freedom in 2023, following Iran, the Philippines had a score of negative four, and Belarus, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua each had a score of negative three.

Based on this report, in 55 out of the 70 countries surveyed, individuals faced legal prosecution for expressing their opinions online, and in 41 countries, people were physically attacked or killed for expressing their opinions in the online space.

Furthermore, governments of 41 countries blocked websites that should be allowed to operate under the standards of freedom of expression outlined in international human rights law.

The report concluded that the decline in internet freedom worldwide has continued for the thirteenth consecutive year, with 27 countries experiencing a worsening situation and only 22 countries showing improvement.

In the previous year’s Freedom House report, it was stated that Iran, after China and Myanmar, imposed the most restrictions on the internet.

While Iran’s economy is declining and the lives of a large part of the population is spiraling into poverty, the regime continues to invest vast sums into internet censorship and surveillance. After the 2019 nationwide uprising, the regime spent a huge budget in creating a complex infrastructure for cutting off internet access during protests. At the same time, the regime is trying to replace popular messaging applications with local insecure apps that allow authorities to peer into the communications of users. All of these endeavors are being paid for from the pockets of the Iranian people.