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Truck drivers' strike across Iran expanding to more cities in their 9th day of protest





Truck drivers' strike across Iran expanding to more cities in their 9th day of protest


Iran, May 30, 2018 - Truck drivers across Iran continued and expanded their strike into its 9thconsecutive day on Wednesday. Almost 280 cities throughout the country and all of the 31 provinces are now scenes of this ongoing movement.
Steel truck drivers in Hamedan, along with drivers of construction machinery, all joined the truckers’ nationwide strike. Ahvaz, Mahshahr, Bukan and Isfahan were also cities where continuous reports are incoming from activists and the drivers themselves.

Drivers lining up their trucks when joining the strike


In various cities taxi drivers and other hard-working people were seen supporting the truck drivers’ strike.
Taxi drivers in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province in western Iran, also expressed their solidarity with the truck drivers and stopped their services.
Various videos show truck drivers in different cities, such as Ahvaz and Tabriz, taking to the roads in long columns without any loads. Many terminals across the country and Iran’s borders were empty and very vacant, activists say.
In Ardabil, northwest Iran, drivers were seen holding a protest gathering outside the transportation complex. This prompted authorities to dispatch anti-riot units to the scene, aiming to prevent other people from joining the drivers’ ranks.
In Malayer, western Iran, over 500 members of the anti-riot and police units were dispatched to the location where truck drivers were protesting, and finally attacking their 
ranks.


The Iranian regime’s parliament is known to have discussed this growing concern and a group of so-called MPs are saying “more than 500,000 drivers across the country are voicing dissent.”
Iranian regime authorities have also resorted to deceptive measures, claiming the nationwide strike has come to an end.
The regime’s deputy Road & Construction minister Abdulhashem Hassan-nia, cited by the semi-official ILNA news agency, claimed the drivers had come to an agreement on May 28th. But the growing number of cities joining the nationwide strike and the situation on the ground is proving otherwise.
Other reports show security forces are dispatched to disrupt these protests by force.
Hundreds of drivers were heading to Shiraz on Tuesday to join the ranks of other protesting drivers. Police were seen placing road blocks and arresting dozens of these protesting drivers.
In Bandar Abbas the drivers did not tolerate repressive measures by the state police, resulting in a scuffle, according to reports.
Drivers across the country are showing no signs of backing down from their just demands.
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