Drivers in over 100 Iranian cities join fourth day of nationwide strike

The Union of Iranian Truckers and Heavy Vehicle Drivers said in a statement on Sunday that police used pepper spray on protesting drivers and arrested several of them.

Launched on May 22 in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the coordinated protest has since spread widely across the country, with truckers pledging to hold out for a full week or longer if their demands remain unmet.

Drivers are demanding better working conditions, higher freight rates, and relief from high insurance costs and fuel restrictions.

On Sunday, drivers in the southeastern cities of Jiroft and Sirjan, the western cities of Shabab in Ilam province and Asadabad in Hamadan province, and several locations in Tehran province, including Pakdasht, joined the strike.

Videos show parked freight trucks, drivers refusing cargo, and protest actions such as horn-blaring. The strike has disrupted traffic on key highways and industrial zones.

Footage received by Iran International on Sunday showed strikes continuing in cities across the provinces of South Khorasan, Ardabil, Bushehr, Sistan and Baluchestan, Gilan, Fars, Isfahan, Qazvin, West Azarbaijan, Yazd, and Razavi Khorasan.

Government response

Despite state media efforts to portray freight operations as normal, the scale of the strike has prompted responses from senior officials.

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday called truckers a “key link in the production and supply chain” and urged the government to act quickly. He cited high costs of vehicles and spare parts, insurance burdens, and unfair freight distribution.

Mehdi Khezri, deputy head of the Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, said base fuel quotas would remain unchanged and that the issue was under review.

He added that meetings were being held with the Social Security Organization and the interior ministry, and that a cabinet-level proposal to reduce insurance costs was under discussion.

Khezri acknowledged that a 45% rise in insurance premiums earlier this year had triggered discontent.

Mohammad Mohammadi, deputy head of the Social Security Organization, said the government continues to pay 50% of the 27% insurance contribution for truckers and that this had not changed.

The IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency called reports of steep insurance hikes “rumors.”

Previous truckers' strikes

Iran’s truck drivers have staged several large-scale strikes in the past.

Last April, truck owners across Iran started a strike to protest the reduction of fares and fuel quota.

In 2018, drivers across dozens of cities stopped work for several weeks over low freight rates, high insurance costs, and access to parts, leading to arrests and government warnings.

In 2022, truckers again walked off the job in solidarity with nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody over an alleged hijab violation.

"In a symbolic act of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression, Jafar Panahi wins a Palme d'Or, reigniting hope for freedom fighters around the world," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Saturday in a French post on his X account.

On Sunday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Director General for Western Europe Mohammad Tanhaei summoned the French envoy to convey Tehran’s strong protest against Barrot's statements.

"Tanhaei condemned his comments as a blatant interference in Iran’s internal affairs and labeled them as irresponsible and provocative," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

He also demanded an official explanation from the French Foreign Ministry.

Tanhaei criticized Paris for what he called the politicization of a cultural event, accusing the French government of misusing its role as host of a cinematic occasion to advance political agendas against Iran.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also called on French officials to "spare Iranians the lectures" on human rights.

"There have been many transgressions making a mockery of France's "human rights activism". But perhaps nothing has made the hypocrisy as stark as the French approach to the Israeli regime and its war crimes. Spare us Iranians the lectures. You have no moral authority whatsoever," he said in a post on X.

The French foreign minister's comments came after Panahi used his speech at the Cannes to call for unity among Iranians worldwide in their struggle for freedom at home.

Panahi, who has faced imprisonment and a nearly 15-year travel ban for his outspoken criticism of the Islamic Republic, received a standing ovation as Cate Blanchett presented the award.

In his acceptance speech, he urged unity among Iranians striving for democracy: "Let's set aside our differences. The important thing now is the freedom of our country, so that no one would dare to tell us what to wear or what film to make."

Panahi's remarks have earned him widespread praise from political, civic and cultural figures around the world.

The award for his film It Was Just an Accident, hailed as a milestone for Iranian cinema and a symbolic victory for freedom of expression, also sparked harsh criticism from pro-government media in Iran.

Panahi, a former political prisoner banned from travel and filmmaking for over a decade, received a standing ovation at the award ceremony.

The Palme d'Or was presented by acclaimed actress Cate Blanchett on Saturday night. In his acceptance speech, Panahi struck a unifying tone, calling on Iranians inside and outside the country to "set aside our differences" and work collectively toward democracy, dignity and human rights.

“Let no one tell us what to wear, what to do or what films to make,” he said, drawing repeated applause from the audience.

The moment was described by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot as a "symbolic act of resistance" against repression. “Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or revives hope for freedom fighters around the world,” Barrot wrote on X.

A national and global moment

The win drew emotional reactions from across Iranian political and artistic figures at home and abroad.

Nobel Peace Laureate Narges Mohammadi, writing from inside Iran, described Panahi as a “brave and distinguished director” whose recognition was the result of years of relentless effort to deepen human and civil values through art.

Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled heir to Iran’s former monarchy, congratulated Panahi and called the award a “great honor for Iran.” He expressed hope that Iranian filmmakers could one day work “without censorship or restriction” in their homeland.

Iranian activist Hamed Esmaeilion called Panahi a “true hero,” praising his resilience in the face of censorship and repression. “His courage inspires all who fight for justice and freedom,” he said.

Political prisoner Mehdi Mahmoudian, speaking from Tehran’s Evin Prison, said the award was “not just a cinematic honor, but a victory of truth over censorship.”

Iranian-British actress Nazanin Boniadi also praised Panahi’s speech, calling him a “unifying voice” at a time when Iranians are searching for solidarity and vision.

The wave of celebration was echoed by 135 civil, political, and cultural activists, who issued a joint statement lauding Panahi as a symbol of artistic integrity and human rights advocacy.

The statement said that Panahi had joined a rare class of filmmakers alongside legends like Michelangelo Antonioni and Robert Altman—to win all three major European film prizes: the Golden Bear (Berlin), Golden Lion (Venice), and now the Palme d’Or (Cannes).

Film made in defiance

It Was Just an Accident, a political thriller, was shot clandestinely in Iran without government authorization and in open defiance of mandatory hijab laws.

The film’s production and Panahi’s public defiance of censorship laws have drawn admiration from international film communities and rights groups.

The Cannes jury also awarded Panahi the Festival’s Citizenship Prize, recognizing his broader contributions to freedom of expression.

An increasing number of Iranian filmmakers are defying the country's strict ideological censorship by making movies without seeking the Culture Ministry's permission for screening abroad.

Last year, prominent Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi said he will not produce any films in Iran until the ban on showing women without headscarves is lifted, as people demand.

Official backlash in Tehran

Inside Iran, however, the award was met with either silence or anger from state-linked outlets.

The conservative daily Farhikhtegan, affiliated with Islamic Azad University, dismissed the honor with the headline: “Palme d’Or Turns to Rust”.

The editorial accused European film festivals of orientalist bias and suggested that Panahi’s acclaim was driven by political motives rather than artistic merit.

The Student News Agency (SNN) went further, branding Panahi a “middleman” and “Iran-seller.” It called the ceremony a “political show” orchestrated by “PR marketers.”

Despite the criticism, Panahi’s victory has reignited conversations around freedom of expression, artistic resistance, and national unity among Iranians worldwide.

As he left the stage in Cannes, Panahi expressed a simple hope: “I dream of an Iran where artists are not silenced, where truth has no borders, and where no one lives in fear for telling a story.”

Major General Hossein Salami, speaking at a ceremony honoring veterans of the Iran-Iraq war in West Azarbaijan province, said that although Iran faces what he described as a “powerful global coalition” of enemies, it continues to function normally at home.

“We are in a full war, but nothing appears warlike. The arenas of battle are active, but the country is at peace,” Salami said in remarks broadcast by state media.

“You see the enemy’s deployment, hear their rhetoric, and feel their political pressure. But the mystery lies in how this nation stands firm and dignified under such heavy pressure.

“All parts of the system are operating normally, while we are in a full-scale war. There is no anxiety among the people—this is exceptional and unprecedented,” he said.

Also on Sunday, commander of Iran’s Army Ground Forces said Iran’s army is fully prepared to respond to any threat “at any level and scale.”

“Our hands are truly on the trigger, and our eyes are wide open,” said Brigadier General Kioumars Heidari, according to state-affiliated ISNA news agency. “We are monitoring threats carefully and are ready to act on the command of the Supreme Leader.”

The comments come after a CNN report last week quoted US intelligence officials who said Israel was preparing to strike Iran's nuclear facilities if ongoing indirect US-Iran nuclear talks collapse.

Before the talks began, US President Donald Trump had already warned Iran that if a new deal was not reached within a set time, the US would bomb Iran.

Speaking to reporters, Heidari said the armed forces — including the regular army and particularly its ground forces — are positioned to retaliate swiftly and decisively against any hostile action.

“If any threat is carried out, rest assured that its origin will be wiped out in a fraction of a moment,” he said. “The people should have confidence that we will confront any threat, from any source, at any scale.”

Last week, Iran’s top military commander announced a major increase in the country’s air defense capabilities, including a fivefold rise in detection and tracking systems.

Last October, Israel carried out a major strike on Iranian targets, destroying large sections of the country’s air defense infrastructure. The attack followed two massive airstrikes from Tehran on Israel. Reports in Fox News and the Wall Street Journal said all of Iran’s S-300s were taken out of action.

“The country’s air defense readiness—especially in detection, identification, and elimination of aerial threats—has advanced significantly compared to last year,” Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, told the IRGC's Tasnim News Agency.

“Although I had no intention of publicly declaring this in such explicit terms, the SNSC has formally written to the Parliament, directing us not to promulgate the hijab and chastity law for now," Ghalibaf told lawmakers.

His remarks came in response to a demand from hardline MP Mohammad-Taghi Naghdali, who urged the Speaker to forward the bill for executive enforcement.

The legislation—officially titled The Law to Support the Family by Promoting Chastity and Hijab—was passed by Parliament in December 2023 but has remained unenforced amid internal disagreements and widespread public opposition at home and abroad. The United Nations said the proposal amounted to "gender apartheid".

Ghalibaf emphasized that, under Article 176 of Iran’s Constitution, the SNSC has overriding authority on matters of national security.

“When the Council issues a directive of this nature, the Speaker has no legal authority to proceed with enforcement,” he said.

Behind-the-scenes power struggles

The decision underscores an intensifying struggle between Iran’s ultra-conservative factions, who demand immediate enforcement, and state institutions seeking to avoid further social unrest.

In recent months, hardliners and religious vigilante groups have mounted increasing pressure on authorities to enforce the law, even staging sit-ins outside Parliament that were eventually broken up by police.

Mohammad-Mannan Raisi, a firebrand MP closely aligned with the ultraconservative Paydari (Steadfastness) Front, recently accused the SNSC of betraying the Islamic Republic’s core supporters by halting enforcement of what he called “God’s commandments.”

The SNSC’s September 2024 decision to quietly shelve the law followed a wave of public backlash, echoing the protests that erupted in 2022 after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in morality police custody. The unrest marked one of the most significant challenges to the Islamic Republic in decades.

Surveillance without legislation

While the law itself remains suspended, authorities have pursued enforcement by other means.

Since late March, women in Tehran, Shiraz, and Isfahan have reported receiving text-message warnings for alleged hijab violations detected via surveillance footage.

Activists and digital rights experts say the messages are powered by AI-enabled facial recognition systems, cross-referenced with government ID databases and mobile phone data.

Critics have condemned the approach as unconstitutional and ethically fraught.

“Does the Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice even have legal access to people’s personal data?” asked Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, a former government spokesman and law professor, in a popular post on X.

In March, the UN's Fact Finding Mission on Iran said, "surveillance online was a critical tool for State repression," including against those rejecting the mandatory hijab.

"This enforcement increasingly relies on technology, surveillance and even State-sponsored vigilantism," the investigators said, with methods including dedicated apps to report violators and the monitoring of social media.

Despite government denials, the crackdown has continued.

In April, Iran’s police signed a cooperation agreement with the Education Ministry allowing enforcement measures in schools, sparking backlash from teachers’ unions who warned of “militarizing education.”

The standoff over hijab enforcement highlights deeper political dilemmas which continue to challenge Iran’s clerical leadership.

Public defiance continues to rise. Across major cities, women are increasingly seen without headscarves in public spaces, often posting videos online in acts of civil disobedience.