Groups of retirees and pensioners rallied on Sunday, 4 October 2026, in at least five Iranian cities, including Kermanshah, Rasht, Ahvaz, Shush and Isfahan. According to Voice of America, the protesters were objecting to rising prices, the loss of purchasing power, meagre pensions and the state of welfare and medical services, and some of them chanted slogans against the crackdown on protesters and their imprisonment.
According to images and reports published by the Iran Human Rights Society, Social Security retirees in Kermanshah gathered in front of the province's General Directorate of Social Security and called for the release of political prisoners and jailed protesters. Social Security pensioners also rallied in Ahvaz and Shush, while in Isfahan, retirees from the steel industry and the Zob Ahan steel company gathered in front of the governorate building. In Rasht, too, retirees protested against the heavy cost of living.
From empty tables to political prisoners
The slogans at these rallies were not limited to livelihoods. According to Voice of America, in addition to protesting unfulfilled promises and empty tables, the protesters called for the release of jailed workers, teachers and protesters, saying they wanted their rights, not the government's charity. In one slogan, the retirees challenged the official narrative about a foreign enemy, chanting: “Our enemy is right here; they lie when they say it's America.” Another slogan stressed opposition to both war and killing, alongside a demand for lasting welfare.
The protesters' main demands include pensions raised in line with inflation, payment of arrears, better medical services and the right to independent trade organisations.
Background
The rallies come as the exchange rate on Tehran's open market has set new records, with the dollar passing 272,000 tomans on Sunday. The Islamic Republic's oil exports have effectively come to a halt following the US naval blockade, and inflationary pressure weighs most heavily on wage earners and pensioners on fixed incomes. The secretary-general of the Nurses' House had earlier said that at the current dollar rate, nurses' salaries had fallen to around 100 dollars a month.
According to Voice of America, citing the US State Department's human rights report, the Islamic Republic severely restricts the right to peaceful assembly and independent association, and has detained a number of labour activists for protesting.
Retirees in five Iranian cities, besides protesting rising prices, called for the release of political prisoners and jailed protesters.
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