Mehdi Oghbai: Expanding Retirees’ Protests Show Iran’s Crisis Is Political Before It Is Economic

Mehdi Oghbai, member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said that the growing wave of protests by retirees and citizens whose savings have been plundered demonstrates that Iran has entered a new stage of public unrest.

According to him, the demonstrations are no longer limited to demands for better pensions and living conditions; they increasingly reflect widespread rejection of a ruling system that has squandered the country's wealth on repression, regional interventions, and military ambitions while millions of Iranians struggle with poverty, inflation, and declining purchasing power.

Oghbai noted that what makes the latest demonstrations particularly significant is not only their geographical spread across several Iranian cities, but also the political tone of the slogans raised by the protesters. Chants such as *"Our rights can only be won in the streets,"* *"Enough of warmongering—our tables are empty,"* and *"We do not want this incompetent government"* reveal a growing public understanding that Iran's economic collapse is not the result of mismanagement alone, but the direct consequence of the policies of the ruling establishment.

He stressed that while the authorities claim there are insufficient funds to improve retirees' pensions, reports continue to reveal enormous bonuses and financial privileges awarded to senior officials and executives within state-controlled institutions. This stark contrast, he said, has become one of the principal drivers of public anger and has further eroded confidence in the regime's institutions.

Oghbai also pointed to the simultaneous protests by victims of financial fraud and embezzlement, arguing that they expose another dimension of the country's systemic crisis. Thousands of citizens who have lost their life savings have spent years seeking justice without success because Iran's judiciary functions as an instrument of political power rather than an independent institution capable of protecting citizens' rights and holding corrupt officials accountable.

According to Oghbai, these demonstrations come at a time when the ruling establishment is facing one of the most difficult periods in its history, marked by deepening economic hardship, escalating factional conflicts, declining political legitimacy, and mounting public frustration across the country. Rather than addressing the root causes of the crisis, he said, the authorities continue to rely on repression, arrests, and intimidation.

He emphasized that one of the most important developments is the participation of social groups traditionally considered less politically active, including retirees, workers, and victims of financial corruption. Their presence in the streets indicates that dissatisfaction has spread well beyond specific sectors and now encompasses broad segments of Iranian society.

Oghbai concluded by saying that the message emerging from Tehran, Shush, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Rasht, Dezful, Karaj, and Tabriz is unmistakable. Millions of Iranians no longer view inflation, unemployment, and poverty as isolated economic problems but as the inevitable outcome of a system that has deprived the people of their sovereignty while diverting national wealth toward domestic repression and destabilizing regional policies. He added that the expanding protests demonstrate that lasting solutions cannot come through temporary economic concessions, but only through restoring the Iranian people's right to determine their own future under a democratic republic that serves its citizens, respects fundamental freedoms, and pursues peaceful relations with its neighbors.