Retirees of the Telecommunication Company of Iran gathered on Monday 9 November 2026, the 17th anniversary of the company's handover to entities linked to the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (Setad) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in front of the Ministry of Communications in Tehran and outside telecom buildings in Isfahan, Ilam, Bijar, Rasht, Zanjan, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Mashhad and Hamedan.
The protesters accused the company's major shareholders and managers of trampling on their rights and chanted slogans against Setad and the shareholders of the "Etemad Mobin" consortium. They called the anniversary of the handover "the black day of telecoms" and said they would not stop protesting until they received their entitlements. The telecom retirees of Bijar were rallying for the 145th time.
The telecom retirees' demands
The retirees want full implementation of the regulations, payment of overdue arrears and guarantees for their legal pay and benefits. They asked the company's managers for a written commitment to address these demands and announced that if no such commitment is given, they will hold a nationwide rally. The protesters also complained about inflation and high prices. The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations backed the rallies.
On the same day, workers of the National Steel Industrial Group in Ahvaz also rallied over unpaid wages. Labour protests have spread in recent months alongside a crisis that, according to the head of the Islamic Republic parliament's social committee, has pushed eight million Iranians into absolute poverty.
Telecoms in the hands of Setad and the IRGC
In 2009 the Telecommunication Company of Iran was handed, through the "Etemad Mobin" consortium, to companies linked to Setad and the IRGC's Cooperative Foundation. According to Iran International's investigations, "Gostaresh Electronic Tadbir", a company linked to Setad, owns 38 percent of Etemad Mobin, while two companies, "Zagros Etemad Tamin" and "Etemad Mehr Pars", together hold about 52 percent.
In 2018 the IRGC announced that its Cooperative Foundation had exited the telecom company's shareholding, but the same investigations show its ties to the company's control structure continue, and rotating ownership and hidden ultimate owners keep the real management of Iran's largest telecom company out of public view.
Seventeen years after telecoms were handed to Setad and the IRGC, its retirees still take to the streets to claim their legal rights.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first.