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At Least 1,922 Executions in Iran in 2025, Nearly Double Compared to 2024

Mehdi Hosseini
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At Least 1,922 Executions in Iran in 2025, Nearly Double Compared to 2024

The Iran Human Rights Monitor (iran-hrm), a human rights website, reported in its new annual report that in 2025 at least 1,956 people were executed in prisons across Iran, representing a 97% increase compared to the previous year. According to the report, among those executed, 10 people were put to death in public, in front of onlookers.

These statistics cover the period from January 1, 2025, to December 20, 2025.

The report states that during this period, in addition to those executed, at least 168 people were sentenced to death by Iran’s regime judiciary, and the death sentences of at least 56 individuals were upheld by the Supreme Court.

Over 400 Global Figures Urge Halt to Execution of Iranian Political Prisoner

It also notes that two individuals who were under 18 years old at the time of the alleged offense, legally referred to as juvenile offenders, were among those executed this year.

According to the Iran Human Rights Monitor, 40% of those executed in Iran in 2025 were charged with “murder,” and 50% were executed on charges related to “narcotics.”

In 2025, the highest shares of carried-out executions were, respectively, in Alborz Province, which hosts two of the country’s most crowded prisons, with 10.87%; Khorasan Razavi with 8.22%; Isfahan with 7.70%; Fars with 6.92%; and Lorestan with 4.89%.

In terms of prisons carrying out executions, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan, Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, and Dizelabad Prison in Kermanshah were at the top of execution figures during this period.

Unprecedented execution figures over the past 11 years

Execution statistics over the past 11 years show that the number of executions declined from 2015 to 2020, but rose again from 2021 onward, reaching its highest level in 2025.

This significant increase highlights serious concerns regarding the human rights situation and the intensification of executions in Iran.

The Iran Human Rights Monitor says that 95% of executions were carried out secretly, meaning without announcement in official or domestic media, and only 5% were reported by media outlets or internal institutions.

The relentless increase in the issuance, confirmation, and implementation of death sentences in Iran in recent months has drawn widespread attention from international bodies and has been accompanied by protests inside and outside the country.

Iranian Political Prisoner Ehsan Rostami Faces Risk of Execution

On December 18, the United Nations General Assembly adopted its annual resolution on the human rights situation in Iran with 78 votes in favor. Earlier, on November 19, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly had adopted a resolution condemning human rights violations in Iran with 79 votes in favor, a text that this year placed broader emphasis on executions, women’s rights, the suppression of protesters, and transnational repression.

Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, stated on October 30 at a meeting of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly that Iran’s regime, by carrying out widespread executions, has embarked on a path of “crimes against humanity.”

Protests and strikes in Iran

According to a report by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a human rights news website, in 2025 at least 2,606 protests and strikes took place, including 2,174 protest gatherings, 407 labor strikes, and 25 professional strikes across various sectors of the country.

Among the recorded gatherings, 813 were labor protests, most of them related to wage demands, and in 40 cases workers were prevented from holding their protests.

HRANA also reported 940 professional protests and five cases in which such gatherings were prevented, writing that the main focus of these protests was wage demands by professional groups, اعتراض to economic conditions, and objections to the inefficient management of state institutions of the Islamic Republic.

In recent years, retirees, workers, and pensioners have repeatedly held protests and marches in various cities across Iran over the failure to fulfill their demands.

The livelihood conditions of these groups have led to a significant increase in the number of professional protests and demonstrations.

Iran’s Point-To-Point Inflation Surpassed 52% In December

Mehdi Hosseini
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Iran’s Point-To-Point Inflation Surpassed 52% In December

At the same time as the worsening economic situation in Iran, point-to-point inflation in December reached 52.6%, indicating an increase of 3.2% compared to November.

The Statistical Center of Iran, a state-run body under Iran’s regime, reported on Saturday, December 27, that the average annual inflation rate in December also reached 42.2%.

This figure reflects the average increase in the prices of goods and services over the 12 months ending in December compared to the same period the previous year, showing a 1.8% increase compared to November.

Iran’s ‘One-Time Exporters’ Failed to Return 93% Of Their Foreign Currency Export Revenues

The Consumer Price Index rose by 4.2% on a monthly basis, reaching 435.1 points. Inflationary pressure on lower-income deciles also remained higher than on higher-income deciles.

Point-to-point inflation in December was reported at 72% for the food, beverages, and tobacco group, and 43% for non-food goods and services.

At the end of December, the annual inflation rate was also 50% for the food, beverages, and tobacco group, and 38.3% for non-food goods and services.

Additionally, monthly inflation for milk, cheese, and eggs was reported at 10.2%, and monthly inflation in the bread sector at 7.7%.

The officially announced inflation rate, due to the weighting coefficients applied by the Statistical Center to consumption groups, is considered by many citizens and experts not to reflect market realities.

Moreover, the sampling used by this center to calculate inflation is based on reports of average commodity prices in the market, which themselves differ from reality.

The sharp increase in point-to-point inflation can be one of the early signs or precursors of hyperinflation, as it reflects an accelerating pace of price growth.

According to the standard definition, hyperinflation occurs when monthly inflation exceeds 50%, or in other words, when prices rise by more than 1% per day.

Under such conditions, if monthly inflation reaches 50% and persists, annual point-to-point inflation can rise to thousands of percent.

Runaway Price Increases and the Shadow of Hyperinflation Over Iran’s Economy

Accordingly, if the 50% monthly inflation recorded in December this year were to continue, the annual point-to-point inflation rate would reach around 13,000%.

Hossein Abdeh Tabrizi, an economist and former secretary general of the Tehran Stock Exchange, warned on December 23 that if 60% inflation is repeated next year and the budget does not remain within its announced framework, the country will enter a phase of dollarization.

According to him, at this stage inflation could suddenly jump from 60% to 3,000%.

In recent months, especially after the activation of the snapback mechanism and the return of United Nations sanctions, citizens have reported daily price increases, saying that even if they shop again after just a few days, they have to buy goods at higher prices.

Experts have warned that the continuation of the unprecedented rise in food and essential commodity prices in Iran could lead to serious consequences, including harm to public health, the spread of malnutrition, and intensified psychological pressure on society.

Price Of Dollar and Gold Surge to Unprecedented Levels in Iran

Sia Rajabi
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Price Of Dollar and Gold Surge to Unprecedented Levels in Iran

As the sharp upward trend in currency and gold prices in Iran continues, the price of each new-design gold coin, known as the “Emami,” approached the unprecedented level of 1.69 billion rials (approximately 1,214 dollars), while the dollar rate in the open market surpassed 1.44 million rials.

On Sunday, December 28, each British pound was traded at around 1.94 million rials, and each euro at more than 1.69 million rials.

This comes as on December 27; the price of each new-design gold coin was 1.57 billion rials and each U.S. dollar was 1.37 million rials.

Price Of U.S. Dollar In Iran Set A New Record

In recent months, runaway inflation and the rise in foreign currency exchange rates have intensified concerns over the deterioration of Iran’s economic situation.

This trend has intensified following the return of United Nations sanctions and the Iranian regime officials’ insistence on continuing the nuclear program.

Over the past year, the prices of food items in Iran have increased by an average of more than 66%.

On December 26, Hossein Sammsami, a member of the economic commission of the Iranian regime’s parliament, stated that since the return of U.S. sanctions against the Iranian regime in 2018, 93% of the foreign currency earned from exports carried out by private individuals has not returned to the country.

Citizens protest the rise in gold and currency prices

In recent days, citizens on social media have criticized severe inflation and the decline in their purchasing power to afford daily food items, holding the Iranian regime’s government and Ali Khamenei personally as the main parties responsible for the situation.

While the severity of financial and economic crises in Iran continues to rise, Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of the Iranian regime, submitted the 2026 budget bill to parliament on December 23.

The government’s plan to increase salaries by 20% without regard to severe inflation has sparked widespread negative reactions.

On the other hand, the Iranian regime’s confrontation with the West and the foreign policy pursued by Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran’s regime, over at least the past three decades have imposed heavy costs on citizens, with sanctions paralyzing a significant portion of the country’s economy.

Nevertheless, Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of the Iranian regime, on December 26 acknowledged the impact of sanctions on the country’s economic disorder but described these conditions as a factor for the “independence” and “maturity” of the defense and missile industries, saying: “Sanctions caused us to move toward distancing ourselves from a single-axis, oil-based economy.”

Araghchi had also told a gathering of economic actors on December 25: “We should accept that sanctions exist and accept that it is possible to live with sanctions… I know very well what sanctions mean and what their costs are. I know their problems, and I also know their blessings.”

His remarks about the “blessings” of international sanctions have triggered critical reactions in recent days.

Iran’s Regime Prevents Gathering of Families of 1980s Massacre Victims

Esmaeil Mohades
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Iran’s Regime Prevents Gathering of Families of 1980s Massacre Victims

Reports indicate that security and law enforcement agents of Iran’s regime prevented a group of families of political prisoners executed in the 1980s, including during the summer of 1988, from commemorating their loved ones at Khavaran Cemetery, a burial ground in Tehran associated with mass graves of executed political prisoners.

Law enforcement and security agents who had been deployed at the site since the early hours of Friday, December 26, once again blocked families from entering Khavaran Cemetery by closing its gates.

In addition, they prevented families from gathering at the cemetery entrance and from placing photographs of their loved ones and laying flowers. Khavaran Cemetery is the burial site of thousands of political prisoners executed in 1988, most of whom were members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.

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According to these reports, despite the restrictions, some families laid flowers along the road leading to the entrance or threw their flowers over the walls into Khavaran Cemetery.

Previously, there had been numerous reports of authorities preventing families of political prisoners executed in the 2000s from entering Khavaran Cemetery in Tehran to hold commemorative ceremonies.

In this regard, dozens of family members and survivors of political and religious prisoners who died in the 2000s stated in a letter to Masoud Pezeshkian, published on January 24, 2025, that they have been barred from entering Khavaran Cemetery for more than eleven months and that the official in charge of the site has compounded their suffering through insulting behavior.

In their letter, these families called for the “cessation of burials of other deceased individuals in this cemetery” and the “removal of all obstacles and restrictions to allow their presence and commemoration of their loved ones.”

So far, no news has been published regarding any response from Pezeshkian to the families of the executed. Nevertheless, the prevention of families’ entry into Khavaran Cemetery has continued.

In the summer of 1988, on the orders of Ruhollah Khomeini and based on rulings issued by bodies known as the “Death Committees,” a very large number of political prisoners were executed, even though they were serving their sentences in the prisons of Iran’s regime.

Due to the secrecy of Iran’s regime authorities and institutions, there is no precise figure for the number of those executed, but according to information from the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, nearly 30 thousand people were massacred over several weeks in the summer of 1988.

Khavaran families have repeatedly said that this action by the authorities is not only a desecration of the bodies of the executed, but also an effort to erase evidence of the Iranian regime’s crimes in the 2000s, particularly the massacre of prisoners in the summer of 1988.

Iran’s regime not only takes the lives and the right to life of political opponents through execution and killing but also denies their human dignity by preventing commemorative ceremonies.

By repressing justice-seeking families, Iran’s regime seeks to silence their calls for accountability and isolate them. It also prevents freedom-seeking people from viewing the pursuit of justice as a national responsibility and from joining these families to prevent the repetition of organized state crimes.

Iran’s ‘One-Time Exporters’ Failed to Return 93% Of Their Foreign Currency Export Revenues

Mehdi Hosseini
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Iran’s ‘One-Time Exporters’ Failed to Return 93% Of Their Foreign Currency Export Revenues

Hossein Samsami, a member of Iran’s regime parliament (Majlis), announced that from 2018, when U.S. sanctions against Iran’s regime were reimposed, until December 16 this year, individuals who engaged in non-oil exports only once failed to return “the equivalent of 93% of the foreign currency earned from their exports.”

Hossein Samsami, a member of the Majlis Economic Commission, told the state-run Khabar Online news website on Friday, December 26, that of the funds not returned to the country, 31 billion dollars are linked to exporters who carried out exports only once.

He added that this amount of debt is “equivalent to 93% of the foreign currency earned from their exports.”

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Explaining what happened to this amount of money, the parliament member said that by “not returned,” it means the currency “did not return to the country’s official foreign currency cycle.”

Samsami said: “That is, these individuals took their dollars to the free market to be used for smuggling or capital flight, instead of taking them to the Central Bank so the country’s basic needs could be met.”

After the United States withdrew from the JCPOA during Donald Trump’s first presidential term and sanctions were reinstated, especially against Iran’s oil exports, officials of Iran’s regime emphasized non-oil exports.

However, last year, Hossein Salahvarzi, the former head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, said regarding non-oil exports that the non-oil trade balance had turned negative and exports had declined.

He added that between 2011 and 2022, a twelve-year period, sanctions inflicted about 1.2 trillion dollars in damage on the country.

Total non-oil export debt

Samsami also said that total non-oil exports amounted to 335 billion dollars, but 117 billion and 611 million dollars of that had not been returned, equivalent to 35% of total non-oil exports.

This is not the first time this parliament member has reported figures on the debt of non-oil exporters.

In the Persian month of Azar (November 22–December 21), he had also cited non-oil export statistics to report this debt and, referring to the “limitations of foreign currency resources” in the country, said that the “failure to fulfill foreign currency obligations” by some exporters under such conditions had placed additional pressure on the economy and the production cycle.

However, some media outlets published different figures.

On October 10, the state-run Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, reported that since 2018, about 270 billion dollars in non-oil exports (excluding state-sector exports including oil, electricity, and natural gas) had been carried out, of which about 95 billion dollars, equivalent to 35% of total exports, had not returned to the country.

The report added that since 2022, out of a total of 146 billion dollars in non-oil exports, more than 56 billion dollars, about 38%, have still not returned to the country.

Accusing Ghalibaf of economic corruption

Regarding the impact of such widespread economic corruption on people’s lives, Samsami said: “Have no doubt that people are paying the price of greed and inefficiency from their livelihoods and their dinner tables.”

He added: “The fact that today the price of nuts in the market has reached 14 million rials per kilogram is the result of pricing based on the dollar rate by nut sellers.”

He continued: “This means an unfair price increase has been imposed on people, and on the other hand it has strengthened the trend of smuggling and capital flight, since export currency also ends up in the market.”

He also said regarding the role of the Majlis speaker in this matter: “Ghalibaf has played a prominent role in failing to pursue this issue and in encouraging the government to raise the exchange rate.”

The parliament member said that some statements by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf “send a signal of not returning currency to dollar holders and exporters, and in following this clear signaling, they not only refrain from delivering their currency to the official cycle but sometimes wait to sell it after the exchange rate rises.”

Iran–North Korea Financial Links Revealed in Money-Laundering Network

Sia Rajabi
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Iran–North Korea Financial Links Revealed in Money-Laundering Network

A report published in South Korea has revealed the identification of financial transactions between Iran’s regime and North Korea.

According to blockchain tracking sources, these transactions were carried out through the money-laundering network of a North Korean operative using cryptocurrencies, with part of the funds transferred to entities affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Chosun newspaper reported in an article published on Friday, December 26, that investigations by TRM Labs show that at least 67,000 dollars were transferred in February of this year from a cryptocurrency wallet belonging to SIM HYON-SOP, a North Korean money launderer, to a wallet linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to the newspaper, these data indicate that Iran’s regime may have used cryptocurrency to evade sanctions, convert funds into U.S. dollars, or even pay for oil.

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Chosun emphasizes that Iran and North Korea, both under severe U.S. sanctions, have increasingly turned in recent years to opaque financial tools, including cryptocurrencies. From analysts’ perspective, identifying these transactions is a sign of overlapping financial networks between the two countries aimed at circumventing the sanctions system.

The report goes on to say that SIM HYON-SOP, who is wanted by the FBI on charges of money laundering and sanctions evasion, has played a key role in this network. The reward for his capture was increased in the summer of this year from five million dollars to seven million dollars. SIM, born in 1983 in Pyongyang, has cooperated with North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank and is listed under U.S. sanctions.

According to Chosun, SIM was mainly active in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates and used aliases such as “Sim Ali” and “Sim Hajim,” presenting himself as a representative of Kwangson Bank. His network included North Korean information technology workers who, after obscuring transaction trails, transferred cryptocurrencies obtained from hacking or wages to wallets under SIM’s control.

These funds were then converted into U.S. dollars through brokers in the United Arab Emirates or China and, after multiple laundering transactions, deposited into accounts of shell companies established in Hong Kong. According to the report, foreign currency earnings of North Korean workers in Russia, China, and Africa also entered SIM’s network through the same route.

Chosun writes that part of this money was not sent directly to North Korea but was instead spent on purchasing goods, equipment, and even weapons needed by Kim Jong Un’s regime. Among the examples cited is the use of a company in Zimbabwe to purchase a 300,000-dollar helicopter in Russia and deliver it to North Korea. Additionally, about 800,000 dollars were spent to procure raw materials for producing counterfeit cigarettes, one of Pyongyang’s main sources of income.

Another part of the report states that U.S. banks, including Citibank, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo, failed to detect SIM’s money-laundering activities, and at least 310 transactions totaling 74 million dollars were processed through the U.S. financial system.

Referring to data from the Financial Action Task Force and the company Chainalysis, the report adds that dozens of North Korean “shadow bankers” are active outside the country and over several years have laundered more than six billion dollars in stolen cryptocurrency for the regime.

Chosun concludes that despite the issuance of an arrest warrant for SIM HYON-SOP by a U.S. federal court in March 2023, his capture still appears difficult and nearly impossible, a matter that observers say highlights serious gaps in international financial oversight and the challenges of confronting joint money-laundering networks involving countries such as Iran and North Korea.

Collapse of Iran’s handmade carpet industry

Hoshang Amiri
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Collapse of Iran’s handmade carpet industry

The Financial Times reported that Iran’s handmade carpet industry is facing an unprecedented collapse, with exports falling to their lowest level due to U.S. sanctions and the Iranian regime’s currency regulations.

The Financial Times wrote on Friday, December 26, that Iranian carpets, renowned for their artistic delicacy and the skill of their weavers and with a production history spanning thousands of years, are now produced in far smaller quantities than in past decades, and Iran has lost a large part of its former position in the global carpet market.

Quoting figures active in Iran’s carpet industry, the newspaper added that regional instability has also contributed to the collapse of this industry, and the current situation has dealt serious damage to local businesses.

Iran’s Carpets Industry on the Decline as Economy Continues to Spiral Down

An Iranian carpet weaver said in this regard that the cost of producing carpets is very high, while the resulting profit is negligible.

According to him, preparing the wool and silk for one carpet costs about 250 dollars, and then nearly one year is spent weaving it. Even if the carpet turns out completely flawless, its sale price is usually around 600 dollars.

The lack of government support and social security coverage has pushed him to the brink of exhaustion: “I work with constant back and leg pain, but I cannot afford to hire an assistant weaver.”

According to statistics from the Carpet and Handicrafts Commission of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, the value of carpet exports in the year ending in March 2026 will fall to less than 40 million dollars, compared to 41.7 million dollars the previous year.

Morteza Haji Aghamiri, chair of commission, said export figures had been below $100mn — “so meagre we can say it is practically zero” — for six years running, down from a peak of more than $2bn three decades ago.

This is while Iran’s carpet exports reached more than two billion dollars about three decades ago.

In October, Agence France-Presse, referring to the critical condition of Iran’s carpet market, reported that carpet exports from Iran have faced a 95% decline.

The loss of Iran’s traditional carpet markets

While Iranian carpets were previously exported to about 80 countries, today their target markets have been limited to the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Pakistan.

At the same time as many of Iran’s traditional markets have been lost, competitors from Turkey, India, China, and Afghanistan have filled this gap.

Before the latest round of sanctions, Western tourists were the main buyers of fine Iranian carpets, but escalating political tensions with the West reduced foreign tourism and constrained the retail market.

Disruptions in the region’s airspace following the war with Israel, along with other political tensions, caused foreign traders to lose confidence.

An activist in the carpet sales sector said: “Even the Tehran carpet exhibition, held every September — which allowed us to maintain minimal contact with foreign buyers — was cancelled this year, apparently because of electricity shortages.”

The Financial Times went on to write that sanctions and the severing of trade relations have eliminated Iran’s opportunity to keep pace with new market tastes and the trend toward minimalist interior design, a trend that is often incompatible with traditional Iranian carpet designs.

In addition, inflation and the decline in citizens’ purchasing power have led to a drop in domestic demand, and Iranian carpets have effectively lost their place in many people’s homes.

According to experts in this field, currently less than three percent of produced carpets are used inside the country.

 Iranian Regime To Cover Budget Deficit From People’s Pockets

Mehdi Hosseini
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 Iranian Regime To Cover Budget Deficit From People’s Pockets

Criticism by labor and professional associations has intensified over the proposed 20% increase in the salaries of government employees and retirees in next year’s budget bill. This level of increase is described as paltry and insulting, and the government is seeking to fund the budget by dipping into the pockets and livelihoods of the people.

In the 2026 budget, the main burden of financing has been shifted from the government to society, and the government effectively intends to compensate for its budget deficit by increasing pressure on the people, especially wage earners.

Teachers, Retirees, And Workers Hold Protest Rallies in Cities Across Iran

At a time when the increase in government employees’ salaries is projected at around 20%, while the country’s real inflation rate stands at about 50%, the outcome is clear: a sharp decline in purchasing power, weakened livelihoods, and the further impoverishment of a large segment of the 55 million people who, according to official reports, are living below the poverty line.

Iran’s Retirees Council, an advocacy body representing retirees, wrote in a statement on Thursday, December 25, titled “The 2026 Budget; A Budget Based on Rent-Seeking and Repression,” that “the current government, like previous governments, under the harsh living conditions of the people, has generously moved to increase the budgets of non-productive, non-service, repressive, ineffective institutions that are unrelated to people’s lives, the result of which is the further expansion of poverty and general deprivation.”

In part of its statement, the council described the outcome of the 2026 budget for the people and the wage-earning class—referred to in Iranian media as an “austerity and resistance budget”—as “the continuation of poverty and growing misery.”

The statement says: “While they have generously and significantly increased the budgets of military, security, judicial, religious-propaganda, and media organizations and institutions, all expert evidence shows that over past decades, the starting point of inflation in Iran when facing budget deficits has always been shocks to the prices of basic necessities of people’s lives, and the 2026 budget is no exception.”

The Retirees Council also criticized the government of Masoud Pezeshkian, the current president of Iran’s regime, for having “planned to finance the main source of its budget expenditures for next year largely through tax increases, devaluing wages and salaries, and reaching into the pockets and dining tables of the people.”

The minimum salary for retirees and pension recipients has been set at 14 million and 40 thousand tomans, equivalent to 140 million and 400 thousand rials (approximately 104 dollars), and the minimum salary for government employees at 15 million and 600 thousand tomans, equivalent to 156 million rials (approximately 116 dollars); figures that, under conditions of high inflation and sharp increases in living costs, are practically insufficient to meet minimum livelihood needs.”

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The 2026 budget bill allocates astronomical funds to institutions that have no direct connection to the economy or people’s daily lives.

The financial situation of retirees is so catastrophic that some are now selling their assets and belongings to pay for medicine and medical treatment.

Earlier, on December 23, the Free Workers Union of Iran warned: “A horrific inflation and unimaginable poverty and misery are on the way for next year,” and called for “nationwide strikes and protests to put an end to the hell dominating the country.”

The Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association also criticized the government’s decision to raise employees’ and wage earners’ salaries by 20% in next year’s budget bill, stressing that this increase, “while the real inflation rate is far higher and several times this figure, constitutes an overtly unjust action and one that contradicts the regime’s own enacted laws.”

According to the government’s budget bill submitted to the parliament, total allocations for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run radio and television organization, increased to 35 thousand and 500 billion tomans, equivalent to 355 trillion rials (approximately 263 million dollars). These allocations, after rising by more than 20%, reached 35 thousand and 500 billion tomans, while the budget of this propaganda organization of the Iranian regime in the current year was about 29 thousand billion tomans, equivalent to 290 trillion rials (approximately 215 million dollars).

Meanwhile, according to Tejarat News, a news website focused on economic issues, the next year’s budget for the Iranian regime’s cultural, propaganda, and terrorist institutions—such as the Seminary Services Center, the Supreme Council of Seminaries, Al-Mustafa International University, and the Khorasan Seminary Planning Council—has reached about 27 thousand billion tomans, equivalent to 270 trillion rials (approximately 200 million dollars).

A journalist wrote on the social media platform X that while over the past five years the salaries of employees and retirees have increased by only 144%, the budget of the Islamic Propagation Organization, a state-run religious propaganda body, has grown by 975%, meaning that the organization’s function is to organize regime marches and demonstrations.

By contrast, the government collects taxes from sectors that are transparent, traceable, and lack political bargaining power—namely wage earners and the middle class.

Labor Strikes In Iran As Workers Demand Their Rights

Sia Rajabi
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Labor Strikes In Iran As Workers Demand Their Rights

Reports from Iran indicate the continuation of strikes and protest gatherings by workers of the Middle East Sugar Agro-Industry Company in Khuzestan Province, workers at the Zarshouran gold mine in Takab in West Azerbaijan Province, as well as workers and maintenance staff of railway lines and technical infrastructure in Lorestan, Zagros, and Andimeshk.

The Free Workers Union of Iran reported that the strike by workers of the Middle East Sugar Agro-Industry Company in the city of Shush continued on Thursday, December 25, for a fourth consecutive day.

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According to the report, during this period company officials, the Shush Labor Office, and other responsible institutions have remained “indifferent” to the protest and have so far taken no action to address the workers’ demands.

During the previous round of workers’ strikes held in late November, the Shush City Security Council required the employer to fulfill some of the workers’ demands. However, the employer not only failed to meet any of its legal obligations but also dismissed three workers on December 22.

Continuation of strikes at Iran’s largest gold mine

The state-run ILNA news agency reported that workers at the Zarshouran gold mine in Takab launched protests over low wages and wage-related benefits.

According to reports, workers at this mine—which the Zarshouran Mining and Mineral Industries Development Company describes as “Iran’s largest gold mine”—held another protest gathering on the tenth day of their strike.

They told ILNA that workers employed in the mine receive lower wages and benefits compared to factory staff and demanded wage increases and access to wage-related and occasion-based benefits.

ILNA quoted one of the striking workers as saying: “Factory workers receive bonuses on holidays and special occasions, but we mine workers are deprived of these benefits. Working at the Zarshouran gold mine is hard, yet our average wage is around 20 million tomans, equivalent to 200 million rials (approximately 150 dollars).”

According to reports by several media outlets, the monthly cost of living in Iran is about 58 million tomans, equivalent to 580 million rials (approximately 430 dollars).

The worker added: “We gold mine workers are contract laborers and do not receive a fair share of the hardship and suffering we endure. This is not fair. Our wage benefits must increase in line with the difficulty of our work.”

The fifth day of strikes by workers and staff in Lorestan, Zagros, and Andimeshk regions

The official Telegram channel of railway line and technical infrastructure maintenance workers and staff reported the continuation of strikes by workers and employees in the Lorestan, Zagros, and Andimeshk regions.

According to the report, workers and staff in these regions have been on strike since Sunday, December 21.

Among other issues, they are protesting low wages and are emphasizing the implementation of the law requiring the return of the Travers Company to state ownership.

Continuation of protest gatherings by employees of the Offshore Oil Company in the Kharg region

According to reports, employees of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company in the Kharg region continued their protests from previous days and, from six a.m. to twelve noon on Wednesday, December 24, gathered at the region’s cultural complex and refrained from reporting to work.

According to these reports, they stated that they would continue their gatherings until all professional and legal demands are fully met.

The protesting workers in the Kharg region are demanding “reform of employees’ minimum wages, full payment of bonuses and operational and rotational benefits to operational staff, full payment of legally mandated retirement service years, transparency in the calculation of taxes in operational areas and reimbursement of excess taxes collected under existing laws, full implementation of Article 10 and complete payment of its back pay, elimination of the division of operational jobs into specialized and support categories, and full independence of the Oil Pension Fund.”

In recent years, employees in oil regions have carried out short-term strikes and protest gatherings.

Protests by workers and retirees of Tabriz Machine Manufacturing Group against privatization policies

Workers and retirees of the Tabriz Machine Manufacturing Group also protested in a statement on Thursday against measures taken toward the “transfer of the Tabriz Machine Manufacturing and Foundry companies under lease-to-own arrangements.”

According to the state-run ILNA news agency, the statement noted that workers and employees of Tabriz Machine Manufacturing are calling for the “transfer of 100% of the shares of these companies to employees in the form of a developmental production cooperative, in accordance with the law and Article 44 of the Constitution.”

The implementation of privatization policies under the directive of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Iranian regime, has led to negative consequences, including the bankruptcy of factories and companies, delays of several months in wage payments, and the dismissal of workers.

About 4,000 Iranian Children with Autism Have Abandoned Treatment Due To Financial Difficulties

Mehdi Hosseini
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About 4,000 Iranian Children with Autism Have Abandoned Treatment Due To Financial Difficulties

Saeedeh Saleh-Ghaffari, the CEO of the Iran Autism Association, announced that about four thousand children with autism in the country have halted their treatment process due to families’ financial inability and the lack of effective insurance coverage for treatment and rehabilitation costs. She added that about five thousand children are also not receiving rehabilitation services.

On Wednesday, December 24, Saleh-Ghaffari, in a meeting criticizing the performance of insurance companies, said that many families with autistic children are forced to personally pay all the heavy costs of treatment and rehabilitation, because insurance providers do not fully and consistently cover these services.

Regarding the costs, Saleh-Ghaffari said: “Educational and rehabilitation expenses for a child under seven years old on the moderate spectrum are at least 250 million rials per month (approximately 185 dollars). These children have specific dental and medical problems and often must be treated under anesthesia; the cost of treatment and anesthesia for each tooth reaches about 250 million rials.”

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This is while the base monthly wage in Iran barely reaches 115 dollars per month.

She emphasized that treatment and rehabilitation costs should be borne by the government and that the Supreme Council of Health Insurance should set the tariffs. According to her, the current cost of each rehabilitation session in the private sector is close to 5 million rials (approximately four dollars), and families must receive at least 25 sessions.

Saleh-Ghaffari added: “For two years, these costs have not been properly paid by insurance companies, and families are forced to sell gold, cars, and even their homes.”

She stressed that the Social Security Organization and the Health Insurance Organization, both government-affiliated insurance bodies in Iran, must be held accountable in this regard.

Despite increased public awareness about autism, individuals with this disorder in Iran and their families still face numerous challenges in diagnosis, treatment, education, and government support.

Sina Tavakoli, the deputy for education, rehabilitation, and family health at the Iran Autism Association, said on April 14, during a meeting held on the occasion of Autism Awareness Month, that high costs have prevented many autism patients from receiving treatment.

At the same time, he stated that there are no precise statistics on the number of people with autism in Iran, but it can be said that more than 40,000 people have this disorder.

However, in another part of her December 24 remarks, Saleh-Ghaffari said that so far about 30,000 people with autism have been identified in Iran but estimates show that more than 100,000 others have yet to be identified.

Referring to the age distribution of those affected, she said that about two thousand and 500 of people with autism in the country are adults, for whom there is currently no designated authority and no defined services.

She added that in the field of adult autism, there are practically no specialized therapists.

According to her, more than seven thousand people with autism are being cared for at home, and the existing round-the-clock care centers are in no way sufficient to meet current needs.

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