Ziaeian hospital radiology staff strike after four months without pay

A number of staff in the radiology department of Tehran's Ziaeian hospital, part of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, stopped work on Tuesday 3 November 2026 in protest at unpaid wages. According to the staff, they have not been paid since July, about four months.

In a message to independent Persian-language media, the staff said that when the radiology department stopped working, patients were left waiting for up to five hours. Ziaeian is a hospital that admits accident victims and patients with brain haemorrhages, fractures, heart and digestive conditions, and the treatment of many of them cannot proceed without imaging.

Protesting staff threatened

According to the staff, the hospital's security office and management called the employees on shift, accused them of collaborating with Mossad and said their protest was aimed at "disrupting national security". The staff say they have been threatened.

They also accused two of the hospital's managers of embezzlement and of charging patients extra, illegal fees, and said test results and paraclinical services are sometimes delayed by up to a month. According to the same staff, on 8 and 9 January, during the crackdown on the Dey uprising, hospital managers refused to admit critically ill patients who were not wearing the hijab.

Ziaeian hospital and Tehran University of Medical Sciences have not yet responded to the report.

A wage crisis in hospitals

Protests over unpaid wages have grown among Iran's medical staff in recent months, while shortages of vital medicines and steep price rises have increased the pressure on patients and hospitals.

After four months without pay, radiology staff at Ziaeian hospital stopped work and, instead of an answer, were accused of collaborating with Mossad.