the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Sep 1, 2025
This article is translated from the August 29, issue #2978 of Lutte Ouvrière (Workers Struggle), the paper of the revolutionary workers group of that name active in France.
Israeli and American bombings in June killed hundreds of people in Iran and destroyed infrastructure. But protest movements which rocked Iran before those attacks are still happening.
The June war let the regime’s police intensify repression against opponents, activists like union members, and immigrants from Afghanistan resisting being expelled. The regime charged some with being paid by Israel, sentenced them to death, and hanged them. Iran has executed 166 people since the beginning of August. At the same time the government is still hated by big sections of society and failed to achieve national unity by citing the imperialist attack.
There are strikes, mainly about wages. For example, nurses at Konarak Hospital in Balochistan demand months of back pay. Oil and gas workers demand enforcement of laws raising their pay. Iranian society is marked by apartheid imposed on women, but female truck drivers mobilize like their male colleagues and are just as vocal expressing their anger at the regime which reduces them to poverty. Annual inflation has been above 30% for years and threatened to reach 40% this spring. Wages are barely enough to survive on bread and rice.
Iranians also hold rallies against blackouts. They denounce the lack of maintenance and the consequences of extreme heat, particularly when the temperature exceeds 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Iran is particularly hard hit by the effects of global warming, which causes heatwaves and water shortages every summer. Drought is worsened by water being diverted by industrialists and owners of large farms linked to the regime. People call them the “water mafia.” The drying up of dams leads to power outages for several hours a day, but also to water outages due to the lack of functioning pumps.
July 23, a record-breaking hot day, was declared a day off in several major cities in an attempt to cope with water shortages. Meanwhile, individuals using more than 34 gallons of water per day were threatened with penalties. Last winter, water plants were already shut down two days a week. This August, two-hour outages happen every day.
Protests against these restrictions are aimed directly against the regime. Anger is building. Many workers struggle to afford a little flour. Having their water and electricity cut off is the last straw!