When the Supreme Leader Speaks, Who Still Listens?

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  By: Struan Stevenson Mojtaba Khamenei inherited the most powerful office in the Islamic Republic. Yet six months into his tenure, a question once considered unthinkable is surfacing in Tehran. When the Supreme Leader speaks, who still listens? For almost five decades, the answer was obvious. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini created a system in which factional warfare could rage beneath the surface, provided everyone ultimately bowed to the Supreme Leader. Ali Khamenei preserved that arrangement for more than three decades. Presidents came and went. Clerics competed. The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) accumulated power. Yet one principle remained sacrosanct. The Supreme Leader had the final word. Today that principle is under strain. On August 28, Mojtaba Khamenei warned officials against creating false choices between war and negotiation, compromise and confrontation. He urged them to avoid publicizing weaknesses and declared that anything damaging social cohesion was forbidden. The mess...
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Protests Continue in Iran as State Media Warn About “People’s Patience Running Thin”

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 Written by Mansoureh Galestan

Every day, Iranian cities witnessed protests by deprived people from all walks of life who are enduring unbearable living conditions. These protests undercut the regime’s claims of “economic management” and render hollow promises by officials about revitalizing the country’s battered economy.



According to reports tallied by the Iranian opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), several protests have erupted in different Iranian cities in recent days.

On Tuesday, employees of the tax administration held demonstrations in a dozen cities in front of the local branches of the national tax administration, protesting their low wages.

On Tuesday, retirees and pensioners of the oil industry held protests in front of the local branches of Pensions, savings, and welfare funds for oil workers. They expressed their outrage over their low pension, which is inconsistent with skyrocketing inflation and prices.

It is worth noting that Iranian retirees and pensioners have been holding nationwide protests in the last year, calling out the regime’s devastating policies, corruption, and ineptitude, resulting in more inflation and skyrocketing prices.

On Sunday, April 11, retirees and pensioners again held their nationwide protests. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the Iranian opposition, hailed their bravery and continuous protests.

In a similar development on Tuesday, pensioners of Iran’s Telecommunication Company held a previously announced demonstration in front of the Headquarters for the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO). EIKO is one of Iran’s largest financial institutions, controlled by the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. EIKO and the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) dominate the Telecommunication Company of Iran.

Retirees of Telecommunication Company were heard chanting: “No nation has seen this much injustice.”

On Tuesday, dental assistants in Tehran and Shiraz held a protest rally demanding equal pay.

On Monday, farmers in Isfahan, central Iran, held a protest rally, demanding their water irrigation rights while chanting slogans against the officials’ bogus promises. Protests erupted in November 2021 in Isfahan after the regime’s security forces stormed farmers’ sit-in and their makeshift camp in the early hours of November 25 and burned their tents.  Protesters soon clashed with security forces, calling for regime change. The security forces used pellet guns and shot protesters mostly in the eye, blinding dozens of protesters.

On Monday, parents of students in Karaj, near Tehran, and Kazeroun, southwest Iran, held protests and rallies against the regime’s decision to resume in-person classes amid the country’s worsening Covid-19 crisis. It is worth noting that due to Khamenei’s ban on American and British vaccines and the regime’s mismanagement, over half a million Iranians have lost their lives since the coronavirus first hit the country.

On Sunday, April 11, the Kian Tire factory workers held a protest rally in Tehran. They have repeatedly staged protests demanding their delayed salaries, benefits, and other bonuses. But so far, they have not met any of their demands.

The ongoing demonstrations across Iran demonstrate how volatile the Iranian society is. The mounting wave of protests, despite the threats of the government crackdown, also reflects the regime’s fragile hold on power, as people no longer fear the oppressive forces.

The country’s grim economy is pushing Iranians’ lives into ruins. The inflation hovers around 50%, and prices of consumer goods are skyrocketing, preventing people from having a decent life. Fearful of public anger over a plunging economy, regime insiders and state media warn about another nationwide uprising. People’s financial calamity and concerns are not paramount for regime leaders and the media. They prioritize one goal, which is preserving the ominous regime.

“People’s patience is running thin because today they are enduring the maximum pressure in the field of livelihood,” the state-run Etemad daily warned on April 13. “The burden of these problems on people’s back, imposed in recent years, has gradually become heavy and exhausting, and the slightest problem could break their backbone,” the paper added.

This article was first published by NCR-Iran

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