The livelihood conditions of millions of Iran’s workers has taken a downward turn during the coronavirus epidemic making conditions even worse than before.
According to a report released today by the regime’s Parliament, 2 to 6 million Iranians, many of them workers, will become unemployed due to coronavirus conditions.
Reports indicate that unemployed workers in a factory in southwestern Iran have now resorted to picking waste to make ends meet during the coronavirus crisis that has killed at least 36,600 people.
A member of the Fasa Sugar Cube Factory Labor Council in Fars province said these workers were only living on their subsidies.
Hadi Mahmoud told the state-run ILNA News Agency today that at least 140 workers in the factory had months of unpaid wages.
According to recent figures announced by the regime, at least 100,000 of Iran’s workers have lost their jobs in the northern provinces of Mazandaran and Golestan and the western province of Lorestan in the last 10 days.
These figures must be taken with a grain of salt as the regime usually covers up its crises by giving out “engineered” figures.
Another official report said that close to 65,000 people in Mazandaran, Qom, the western province of Kermanshah, the southwestern province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Mahabad in northwestern Iran and Sabzevar in the northeast have registered to receive unemployment insurance.
With the inactivity of the construction industry, at least 80,000 construction workers have lost their jobs in Mazandaran alone.
Iran’s workers are barely able to make ends meet including paying for rent and their daily needs.
#Iranian father sheds tears as he curses Rouhani: "What have you done to us?! I wish I'd die & be rid of this life. Damn you Rouhani! I have 4 daughters and when I can't provide, what good am I to them?"
According to a labor activist in Mazandaran, construction workers in the northern province are living in the “worst of conditions and do not have money for bread”.
Bread is considered the most basic food in Iran and usually stands for food in general.
Hadi Sadati, who is the head of the Mazandaran Construction Workers Union told the state-run ILNA News Agency yesterday that construction workers have been unemployed for two months and are living “in appalling poverty”.
According to the former Minister of Roads and Urban Development, the money that the government has promised as aid to businesses, “does not agree with the depth of the disaster”.
Abbas Akhondi said that thousands of small to medium workshops and businesses would be forced to shut down adding that they would not be able to get back on their feet for some time.
The state-run Arman daily wrote yesterday that Iranians had depleted their savings and were now forced to sell their belongings.
“Many people who are seen in the jewelry shops these days are not buyers, but sellers of gold,” the daily wrote.
Along with the widespread unemployment of workers and their appalling livelihood conditions, the health of workers is also being neglected in Iran’s factories.
“Another issue that has raised concerns these days is the health of workers in the workshops and factories that have started operating. Just a few days ago, it was reported that 37 workers at the Urmia Petrochemical Plant (NW Iran) had tested positive for coronavirus,” the Shargh state-run daily wrote yesterday.
The daily said that 82 tests were carried out in the factory which meant that 45% of those who tested were positive for the virus.
“It would seem that on the verge of May Day, the situation of Iranian workers is worse than ever,” the daily wrote.
Iran’s Ministry of Health said today that 5,877 Iranians had died from the virus since the start of the epidemic.
But an opposition group that announces daily coronavirus fatalities said the regime was covering up the real numbers. The National Council of Resistance of Iran said that 36,600 people had died from the virus in 301 cities across the country.
“In today’s session, the 15-percent salary raise of representatives was passed according to increasing the administration employers’ salaries,” said Akbar Ranjbarzadeh, member of the parliament’s governing board on April 14.
Ranjbarzadeh’s statement caused public hatred and anger as many people are deprived of essential supplies amid the coronavirus crisis. Notably, rising MPs’ salaries are taking place while the rest of society is caught in a tough dilemma.
On the one hand, the coronavirus threatens the health and lives of low-income classes, and on the other hand, they have nothing to stay at home and must struggle hard to make ends meet. Earlier, authorities claimed that they would help impoverished citizens. Later, it was revealed that they only give a $65 loan with 12 percent interest.
Receiving Subsidies Despite Mind-Blowing Salaries
“Many people lost their jobs due to observing social distancing. In such critical circumstances, governments and administrations should use their national reserves to help the people. Workers in Mashhad said, ‘it is better than the coronavirus kill than to die of hunger,” the state-run Armen daily wrote on April 19.
The regime increases salaries of lawmakers at the expense of citizens while at the same time it pleads for lifting economic sanctions. It is worth reminding that MPs obtained huge profit and wealth by abuse of power and rent-seeking in addition to million-toman salaries.
On April 18, the state-run Resalat daily published an article titled, “Adding Salt on the People’s Injury.” The author criticized “representative’s adoption” according to political interests and warned about “discouraging the public about the country’s officials.” However, he unintentionally revealed the scope of people’s hatred against the regime, which is possible to eradicate the fundamental rule from Iran.
“Representatives’ action revived the memory of the administration’s proposal from high-income individuals about refusal from receiving subsidies. At the time, many officials didn’t refuse despite their stellar incomes. We cannot expect citizens to cooperate in this status quo,” Resalat wrote.
Notably, the vast corruption among officials, including MPs, prompted severe wrath even among the mullahs’ advocates and supporters. For instance, the advocate of the supreme leader Ali Khamenei slammed disqualified MPs from running for the February elections along with the negligence of the Guardian Council and the Judiciary.
Dark Humor and Inappropriate Reflection in the Society
“Representatives should be placed on the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus by allocating part of their salaries or practical moves. However, they only proved their profiteering by such decisions in the latest days of their tenure,” Resalat quoted government-linked expert Kamal Sajjadi as saying.
Sajjadi also warned about society’s “undesirable reactions” and said, “This news will cause undesirable reactions in the society… Also, when people have faced a crisis, these suggestions are unwise. Representatives’ move is a dark humor that will certainly result in undesirable reactions in society.”
Of course, officials are deeply concerned about the public response to their 40 years of corruption and mismanagement that left the country on the brink of collapse. As they experienced countrywide protests in November and January, different factions make efforts to ease the society’s ire by blaming their rivals.
“We should examine the mind of those who offered the plan. Furthermore, representatives currently receive more than $1,000 per month. They also gain more with calculating other profits like office expenditures, special vehicles, private drivers, bodyguards, home in the capital Tehran, domestic and foreign missions, and rewards. Therefore, their low salaries aren’t the reason for their endeavor,” said Habibollah Burbur, a government-linked expert in political affairs.
In 2016, the Jadvalyab website exposed that each MP was monthly receiving around $7,500 as salary and tens of thousands of dollars in loans. In this respect, the website had provided a chart that showed, “The regime pays more than $1,500 for hiring driver and bodyguards, over $1,500 as rent for the house, around $1,800 for expenditures of office, more than $1,000 as rent for the office, and $250 for other issues like car servicing, and cellphone charging, in addition to near-$1,500 fixed salary.
At the time, representatives enjoyed a $70,000 loan for purchasing an appropriate house and car. The parliament speaker also rewarded each represented by more than $750 each several months.
However, these warnings about the undesirable reactions only show authorities’ concerns over the eruption of public wrath against the religious fascism.
Notably, recent developments like the Majlis’ unsuccessful effort to reduce the gasoline prices in November and after the nationwide protests and not approving the 2020-2021 budget bill, which was later approved by the order of Ali Khamenei, show that the parliament has no effective role in the Iranian regime.
In this respect, the MPs only compete to grab a bigger share in political power and economic interests. They are qualified by the Khamenei-controlled Guardian Council and should announce and prove their loyalty to the supreme leader. Therefore, as the people displayed their real desire for the regime change in the recent uprising, the formal parliamentary elections in February were met with unprecedented apathy.
Iran, April 18, 2020—The town of Parand near Tehran, the capital of Iran, witnessed rising floodwaters on Friday, April 17, and many vehicles were carried away, reports indicate. The residents of the regime’s Mehr housing project neighborhoods say authorities do not respond to the problems they are facing as a result of these floods. Heavy rains on Friday afternoon in Parand resulted in many vehicles being engulfed as floods ran through their roads.
Authorities in this area have long refused to prepare the necessary infrastructures to prevent such disasters. Channels are needed to direct rainwater away and as a result the roads of Parand were flooded with water.
In Kerman Province, south-central Iran, recent rains resulted in floods in the cities and towns of Shahdad, Golbaf and Anduhjerd. Rising floodwaters blocked roads leading to 25 villages in this area, in addition to cutting off electricity for the locals.
On Friday, April 17, state-run media reported 20 villages were surrounded by rising floodwaters. Locals in the city of Jahr were forced to flee to nearby mountainous areas where they slept the night.
Floods in in the town of Shahdad surrounded areas where hundreds of people live and inflicted vast damage to their property. The floods resulted in 20 to 80 percent damages to various farm areas providing wheat and other such crops in the Shahdad area.
Locals in these areas have suffered catastrophic losses as a result of floods in Kerman Province and regime authorities refusing to take necessary action in regard to preventive measures.
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Following floods in Razavi Khorasan Province in northeast Iran on Sunday, April 12, water levels rose and floods engulfed the city of Qom in central Iran, known as one of Iran’s coronavirus hotspots. A large number of vehicles were washed away, and a massive amount of muddy water entered various factories and stories across the city.
Floods also spread to all the cities of Razavi Khorasan Province. Fourteen roads leading to various villages and four main roads between cities, including paths linking the cities of Firouzeh to Khoshkhab, Rashtkhar to Torbat-e Heydarieh, Neyshabour to Kashmar, and Bardaskan to Sarkhes were all blocked. Most of the damages were inflicted to the cities of Davarzan, Sabzevar, Javin and Joghtay.
April 12 - Salami, Razavi Khorasan Province, northeast #Iran Recent floods are devastating the lives of locals and regime authorities are not providing adequate aid.
Numerous locals in various villages near Davarzan were forced to evacuate their homes as floodwaters rose in their areas. Two people lost their lives in Razavi Khorasan Province and one was reported missing. The two deaths were reported in the cities of Rashtkhar and Khaf. Severe damages were also reported by locals of this important province.
The famous Sagesabad bridge in the Boin Zahra area of Qazvin Province in northwest Iran was destroyed as a result of the floods. Video footage of floods on Saturday, April 11, in the city of Takestan of this province were posted on the internet.
“Due to strong floods in the village of Zardab Balakhaf, a 31-year old man and a 13-year old child were washed away. There is no sign of them. A 27-year old man being washed away was saved by local villagers and was later sent to a hospital,” one local of Razavi Khorasan Province said.
Recent rains, especially during the past 72 hours, resulted in floods in villages around the city of Takestan, including Asfarvarin, Dowlatabad, Kahak, Yahya-abad, Ali Khamenei, Saj, Rakan and Lazjerd.
Iran, April 11, 2020—While Iran is grappling with a deadly coronavirus outbreak, the floods that have devastated large swaths of the country have nearly gone unnoticed. Flashfloods in 14 provinces of Iran have caused much destruction to infrastructure and left several dead in their wake.
Provinces such as Isfahan, Alborz, Tehran, West and North Khorasan, Semnan, Fars, Qom, Kerman, Kermanshah, Golestan, Gilan, Lorestan and Yazd have been hit by heavy flooding in the past weeks.
In a turn of events in Ardakan, Yazd province, a car overturned while two small children had taken refuge in it to protect themselves against the flood. The body of one of the children was found 700 meters away from where the incident took place after several hours of search by the locals. The other has not been found but is also believed to be dead.
Two children killed by floods in Yazd province
A witnessed said: “It was very hard to see the scene, we couldn’t do anything. There was no sign of relief efforts. If there was any response Task Force, why they were not there. Why didn’t they block the road?”
Four people died due to floods and lightning in west Gilab, Kerman, and Yazd provinces. In the coming days, it is forecasted that 20 provinces will be hit by floods.
Mojtaba Khaledi, the spokesperson for regime’s Emergency Organization said to Khabar Online on Thursday, April 9, “During the past 48 hours, 14 provinces of Isfahan, Alborz, Tehran, South and North Khorasan, Semnan, Fars, Qom, Kerman, Kermanshah, Golestan, Gilan, Lorestan, and Yazd have been affected by natural disasters.” He added, “During the last 48 hours, four people have lost their lives due to incidents in Ardakan, Yazd province, and Delijan in Markazi province."
Khaledi added that from March 22 to April 10, about 41 people have lost their lives in the same cities due to natural disasters.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) expressed her condolences to the suffered compatriots and their loved ones and called for public assistance to the flood victims.
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In March devastating floods spread in 19 provinces across Iran, leaving behind dozens killed and injured, and massive damages following over 40 years of neglect by the mullahs’ regime.
Residential areas and especially farm fields in the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Bushehr, Chahar Mahal & Bakhtiari, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, Khuzestan, Semnan, Sistan & Baluchistan, Fars, Qazvin, Qom, Kerman, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmed, Golestan, Gilan, Mazandaran, Markazi (Central) and Hormozgan are witnessing extensive destruction. Reports indicate dozens of people in various provinces have been killed and injured.
Iranian opposition President Maryam Rajavi, head of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), expressed her condolences to the Iranians devastated by these floods, and called on neighboring areas to rush to the flood victims’ support.
Eleven provinces, including Hormozgan, Bushehr, Fars, Sistan & Baluchistan, Qom, Gilan, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, Mazandaran, Semnan, and Kerman are seriously damaged with floods, according to Mojtaba Khaledi, a spokesperson of the regime’s Emergency Organization. Twelve people have died and 21 injured, according to Khaledi’s remarks in an interview with the state-run ISNA news agency.
Over 10,000 hectares of farmland south of Kerman in south-central Iran are engulfed by floodwaters. Fields of wheat, tomato, watermelon, vegetables, and flowers have all been destroyed in this area. Floods have also inflicted 5 trillion rials (around $30 million) in damages to the already deprived farmers.
Eleven bridges have been completely damaged in the city of Iranshahr, located in southeast Iran. The road linking Iranshahr to the city of Bam has also been blocked. In the city of Borazjan, floodwaters have reached the roof of vehicles and all stores and markets are closed.
The southern areas of Sistan & Baluchistan Province have suffered over 401 billion rials (around $2.43 million) in damages, according to local officials. Weather reports indicate more than 50 millimeters of rainfall flooded this area. Crisis management officials are saying the situation in five towns, including Qasre-Qand, Nikshahr, Chabahar, Kenarak, Dashtiari, and Dolgan are critical.
Other officials are reporting that 130 villages, one city and three main roads in Iran’s southern provinces are surrounded by floodwaters.
Due to the negligence of the Iranian regime officials, the journey of Iranian pilgrims and travelers to Iraq, especially to the cities of Najaf and Karbala, continued even after the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran.
Since the 2002 IraqWar, the Iranian regime has increased its deadly presence in Iraq via terrorism and meddling in Iraq’ internal affairs. Now the mullahs’ regime has been identified as responsible for the coronavirus outbreak in Iraq due to its inaction and cover-up in Iran.
In an interview with the Iraqi Al-Iraqiya TVchannel last week, Dr. Adham Ismail, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s representative in Iraq, said: “If it wasn’t [because of the regime in] Iran, no one would have been infected with the [corona]virus in Iraq.”
“If the Iran wasn’t reluctant in combatting the coronavirus, if it had not been reluctant in its relations with China and had not held its parliamentary elections, and not just holding the elections, pilgrimaging in the city of Qom…. [the regime] should haveimposed strict hygienic measure on pilgrimage, the disease would had not spread. So, Iran has caused so many countries to be infected [by the coronavirus]; it has infected 17 countries. If it wasn’t [because of] Iran, no one would have been infected with the coronavirus in Iraq.”
Since the coronavirus outbreakIran, the regime, first chose to completely deny its existence and when more evidence leaked out, the mullahs’ regime was forced to admit to this crisis yet tried to downplay it. Since then, the regime has been pursuing a criminal campaign of cover-up, parallel to its inaction. This attitude has resulted in over 16,800casualties and turned Iran into an epicenter of this virus; according to the reports published by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK).
The regime continues its terrorist activities in Iraq
Terrorism and export of chaos abroad is one of the Iranian regime’s pillars of existence, along with domestic oppression. The regime has never stopped its illicit activities and warmongering plansin the region. While the Iranian people have been suffering from poverty and now shortage of medication and disinfectants amid the coronavirus outbreak, the regime continues funding its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
News from Iraq indicates that since the elimination of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force (IRGC – QF)commander Qassem Soleimani, his successor, EsmailGhaani, has traveled to Iraq to coordinate the activities of the regime’s terrorist proxy groups. There have also been some provocative actions and attacks against the U.S. forces in Iraq.
The regime continues its malign and terrorist activities in the region, while through its apologists and regime-friendly journalists, it has been blaming U.S. sanctions for the increasing number of coronavirus deaths in Iran. This fact, along with regime’s continuous inaction and cover-up of the coronavirus crisis in Iran, its increase of oppressive measures, rejecting any foreign help (such as help offered by the U.S. and expelling the Doctors Without Borders from Iran), and not releasing prisoners and killing them instead, confirm that the regime needs the sanctions to be lifted in order to increase its terrorist activities; and it uses the coronavirus as a lever of pressure on the international community to receive more incentive packages.
In a nutshell, the regime is using the coronavirus outbreak, via taking the Iranian people’s lives hostage, to fortify its pillars of existence, terrorism abroad and domestic oppression to prolong its life. Therefore, the international community’s inaction or succumbing to the regime’s demands will increase the misery in the Middle East, and in this case, due to the coronavirus and threat of terrorism, the whole world.
