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Retirees of the telecommunications sector hold rally to protest low pensions and poor living conditions—Khorramabad, September 8, 2025
A powerful wave of coordinated and spontaneous protests swept across Iran on September 8, 2025, revealing a society at its breaking point. From the organized nationwide demonstrations of retirees cheated out of their pensions to the defiant strikes against state executions, Iranians from all walks of life took to the streets. The day’s events painted a stark picture of a populace united against the systemic corruption, brutal repression, and catastrophic incompetence of the ruling theocracy. This was not a series of isolated grievances but a nationwide indictment of a failed state.
Confronting State-Sanctioned Plunder
The most widespread protests were led by telecommunications retirees, who staged coordinated rallies in numerous provinces, including Kermanshah, Gilan, Kurdistan, Esfahan, Tabriz, and Fars. Their anger was directed at the financial heart of the regime’s corrupt apparatus.
September 8—Tabriz, northwest Iran#IranProtests
Retirees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) in East Azerbaijan province protested against the oppression and exploitation by the IRGC’s Cooperative Foundation and the Executive of Khomeini’s Directive Organization… pic.twitter.com/9WSXE1C09G
— People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 8, 2025
For over 15 years, their rightful pensions have been withheld and plundered by powerful entities, which protesters explicitly named as the IRGC Cooperative Foundation and Setad Ejraiye Farman Emam (EIKO), a massive financial conglomerate under the direct control of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In Kermanshah, their chants resonated with a sentiment felt across the nation: “Neither the parliament nor the government cares about the nation!”
This cry against institutional theft was echoed by other groups long victimized by state-sanctioned fraud. In Tehran, victims of the Ramak Khodro automobile company held a rally after nine years of waiting for justice, even with court orders in their favor.
Protesters highlighted the impunity of the perpetrators, noting the company continues its fraudulent operations by laundering money and re-emerging under a new name, “Nora Motor.” A day earlier, on September 7, members of the so-called “33 Cooperatives” blocked the street in front of the parliament, protesting a 40-year-old land fraud scheme by the government. Their peaceful demonstration was met with a predictable response: violent suppression by security forces.
September 8—Rasht, northern Iran
Protest rally by retirees of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI), demanding higher pensions and access to basic services that the regime is denying them.
“Retirees shout for your rights!” protesters chant.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/PhLC4euoNG
— People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 8, 2025
Repression Breeds Resistance in Semirom
In the city of Semirom, Isfahan province, the regime’s brutality ignited a firestorm of defiance. On September 6, the authorities executed Mehran Bahramian, a political prisoner arrested during the 2022 nationwide uprising. Morad Bahramian, one of his relatives, was also martyred during that uprising, shot and killed by IRGC forces.
Rather than instilling fear, the execution sparked immediate outrage. On September 7 and 8, the merchants and shopkeepers of Semirom launched a general strike, closing their businesses in a city-wide act of civil disobedience.
The regime responded by imposing a de facto state of military rule, flooding the streets with security forces, disrupting internet access, and monitoring all movement. Yet, the repression failed. On the third day of the strike, the people of Semirom bravely defied the heavy security presence to hold a massive memorial service for Mehran Bahramian in his hometown, forcing the authorities to relent and permit the ceremony. This small victory was a powerful symbol of popular will triumphing over state terror.
September 8—Semirom, central Iran
Coinciding with the memorial ceremony for executed political prisoner Mehran Bahramian, bazaar merchants in Semirom, his hometown, held strikes across the city.
Despite repression, threats, and the presence of security forces, the people showed… pic.twitter.com/NrFOCCFO30
— People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 8, 2025
Collapse of Services and Social Cohesion
Across Iran, protests also erupted over the regime’s complete failure to govern. In Lalehabad, a district of Babol, residents gathered to protest a severe, multi-year water shortage, shouting, “We haven’t had a single drop of water for years!” In Qom, parents expressed their anger over the chaotic and mismanaged distribution of school uniforms ahead of the new school year.
Simultaneously, ethnic minorities protested against state-sponsored insults and cultural suppression. In Shiraz, hundreds of Qashqai Turks rallied against the distortion of their identity, while members of the Lur community gathered in Mamasani to protest discriminatory and disrespectful treatment by officials.
The regime’s cruelty was on full display in Arak, where municipal agents, acting like thugs, violently descended upon and destroyed a small flower stall, a stark symbol of the state’s war on the livelihoods of its own citizens. Meanwhile, in Marivan, the funeral for Rebin Gurani—a civilian who tragically died while voluntarily fighting forest fires caused by state neglect—transformed into a political demonstration. Mourners defiantly chanted “The martyr is alive” and “Martyr of Kurdistan,” turning their grief into an accusation against an illegitimate government.
September 8—Shiraz, southern Iran#IranProtests
A group of Qashqai Turks gathered at Hafezieh Crossroads to voice their protest against the distortion of their identity and insults to the Qashqai community.
Hundreds of people, carrying banners and chanting protest slogans, showed… pic.twitter.com/Rgkk2BXpch
— People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 8, 2025
A Regime on Life Support, A Nation on the March
The events of September 8 were not random acts of discontent. They represent a unified and coherent rejection of the ruling theocracy. The thread connecting the retirees in Kermanshah, the strikers in Semirom, and the protesters in Shiraz is the shared understanding that the regime is the source of all their suffering. Whether through the direct plunder of the IRGC, the murderous actions of the judiciary, or the gross incompetence of its officials, the regime has proven itself to be the enemy of the Iranian people.
Faced with legitimate demands, its only response is violence, suppression, and theft. This is not a sign of strength but of profound weakness and fear. The Iranian people, in contrast, have demonstrated immense courage, unity, and an unyielding determination to reclaim their country.