Spring of freedom

Protests in Tehran, Mashhad and Ahvaz  On Monday, several cities across Iran witnessed protests by angry people whose rights have been trampled by the Iranian regime and its affiliated companies and organizations. Tehran: demonstrations by customers of Saipa vehicle manufacturer In Tehran, angry customers of Saipa, an Iranian vehicle manufacturing company, held demonstrations in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Commerce. The protesters are demanding the delivery of their purchased vehicles, which have been delayed for more than a year. Some of the customers of Saipa made their purchases in 2016 and have not yet received their vehicles. Protests over undelivered purchases and hiking prices of Saipa have been ongoing for several months. Saipa is one of Iran’s largest auto manufacturers and a publicly traded company. Its main shareholder is an investment company owned by the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Commerce. That’s why the customers...

Homeless people, labor children and drug addicts in the streets In a cold, cloudy November morning in Tehran, a chill breeze sweeps the leaves in one of the main streets of Tehran, drawing the gazes of passersby to a man lying on a piece of cardboard beside the pavement. Seeing homeless people, labor children, and drug addicts wandering and lying in the streets has now become a common scene in Iran. “70 percent of the population is under the poverty line.” These are statistics that even official state-run media cannot hide and have to reveal in a bid to maintain a modicum of a reputation as news sources. On October 31, state-run news agency ILNA revealed, “In the recent circumstances almost 70 percent of the population lives in a vulnerable situation that will extremely affect the low-income strata of the society. However, mid-class strata will suffer as well.” Tasnim, a news agency with ties to the terrorist IRGC Quds force, talked about the collapse of the middle and ...