Iran Armed Forces Personnel Hold Protests For Higher Salaries

Dozens of active personnel and retirees of the armed forces have held protests in several Iranian cities to protest their poor living and working conditions.

According to videos posted on social media, the Monday rallies were held in front of the governor's offices in cities across the country such as Mashhad, Shahrekord, and Kermanshah while protesters in Tehran gathered in front of the parliament.

The demonstrations took place following a call circulated on the internet by the personnel and retirees of the armed forces to protest their low salaries.

Some former and current personnel received text messages from security agencies warning them against participating in the planned protests.

People from different walks of life, including teachers, nurses, and firefighters, have been holding regular protest rallies or strikes to demand higher salaries but such protests by the personnel of the armed forces are unprecedented.

In some other rare moves, staff members of the hardliner judiciary department and prison guards took to the streets in several cities across the country to protest their low salaries.

Earlier in January, the spokesman for Iran's police said salaries of police officers have increased several times in the previous nine monts, describing their living conditions as a major concern. However, the government cannot afford to pay substantially higher salaries in par with the rising food prices on top of high inflation in the previous few years.