According to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, in the past five months demonstrations and protest gatherings “have decreased almost 38 percent” compared to the same period last year, but “in some fields, pressures have discontent has increased.”

Fazli also mentioned the protests before the parliamentary elections in his speech on Sunday and said: “We have secret and public information that the enemies of the Islamic Revolution want to use the election time to create division in the society and take advantage of the situation.”

Almost a month ago, Rahmani Fazli had said that economic matters are the priority for 80 percent of the country.

In recent months, the judiciary and security forces of the Islamic Republic have arrested and imprisoned many civil rights and labor activists who participated in protests.

The most recent case being 41 workers of Ahvaz Steel Company who have been summoned to the Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz.

These workers had participated in the workers protests last year and were arrested.

Also, the Haft-Tappeh Sugarcane Company syndicate announced that so far 16 of its workers have received sentences of 8 months in prison and 30 lashes for participating in labor protests.

Recently, Ebrahim Raisi, the chief of the Islamic Republic’s judiciary said: “There are a lot of labor protests in the country and we are reviewing them.”

He explained that sometimes people use labor issues to push for a different agenda. He asked the workers to resist those who infect the atmosphere of workers’ protests.