Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
RFL/RE – Iranian truck drivers have continued to strike for a third day, with more joining their ranks across the country despite threats from security agents over undelivered cargo.
Trucks in the central Iranian city of Isfahan remained parked while reports published on social media indicated that drivers in the cities of Qazvin, Kermanshah, Marand, and Bandar Abbas joined the protest, sparked by the death of a young woman in Tehran after being detained in mid-September for a violation of the country’s strict head-scarf law.
Unrest among workers in many sectors of Iran’s economy is causing pressure to mount on the government after a summer of unrest over poor living conditions and a flagging economy wracked by U.S. sanctions imposed because of Tehran’s nuclear program.
The death on September 16 of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked a new wave of unrest that authorities have met with lethal force across the country.
Strikes have also been reported in several cities in recent days, with reports that workers at the Safe Khodro, an auto manufacturer in the city of Karaj, just northwest of the capital, went on strike on November 27.
Images published on social media also showed that workers at the Pars home-appliance factory in Qazvin were also on strike, chanting, “Workers, shout, shout for your rights.”
Meanwhile, three labor organizations, the Haft Tapeh Workers’ Union, the Coordinating Committee to Help Establish Labor Organizations, and the Retirees’ Union Group issued a joint statement condemning the bloody repression of people in the Kurdish cities of western Iran.
They also demanded the immediate withdrawal of all armed forces from Kurdistan, the unconditional release of all prisoners and those detained, and the cessation of rocket fire into Iraq’s Kurdish region.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has accused Kurdish groups of “attacking and infiltrating Iran to sow insecurity and riots and spread unrest” amid the protests that erupted over Amini’s death.
Her death has prompted thousands of Iranians to take to the streets to demand more freedoms and women’s rights. The widespread demonstrations represent the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.
The activist HRANA news agency said that as of November 23, at least 445 protesters had been killed during the uprising, including 61 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.
