2022 Iranian food protests

In May 2022, ongoing protests inIranescalated into nationwidecivil unrestas a result of government price hikes onstaple foodsincludingbreadandpasta.The protests were part of acountrywide wave of protestsbeginning in July 2021. Protests were initially concentrated in the drought-stricken province ofKhuzestan,but rapidly spread nationwide. Authorities responded by declaringriot controlactionandblocking internet access.
Prior to the start of the demonstrations, preceding and duringInternational Workers' Dayon 1 May, Iran preemptivelydetained38 teachersin order to stymie planned nationwide protests duringNational Teachers' Dayon 2 May. Workers' protests had increased over the past year as the result of a deterioration in living conditions caused by the re-imposition ofUS sanctions against Iranduring theadministration of Donald Trumpand the economic effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic.After the Iranian government endedsubsidiesforimportedwheat, the price offloursoared by around 500%,exacerbating currentinflation, which hovered around 50%.
The protests, beginning on 6 May in Khuzestan,were initially associated with the risingcost of living. However, they rapidly escalated into anti-Mullahdemonstrations.Ranchersin at least 10 cities allegedly staged demonstrations at offices of theIranian Agricultural Ministry, withpensionersparticipating in similar demonstrations.Large scale demonstrations reportedly broke out in the city ofDezful,and reportedly spread into the cities ofKhafajia,Hawizeh, andShiraz.
In the summer of 2021,widespread demonstrationsinKhuzestanand elsewhere inSouthern Iranbroke out as a result of government rationing ofwater. The suppression of the demonstrations was met with condemnation from internationalhuman rightsorganizations includingAmnesty International, who criticized the deployment of "unlawful force".The demonstrations were accompanied by an industrialstrikecomposed of petrochemical workers inBushehr province. Labor actions continued to increase over the following year and into 2022,exacerbated by increasingconsumer pricesand a weakeningrial.Demonstrations across Khuzestan and various cities occurred in the week following abuilding collapse in Abadan, which had combined with several weeks of the ongoing food protests.
On 1 May 2022, the Iranian government abruptly terminated subsidy support for several imported staple products.Iranian presidentEbrahim Raisiexplained his decision to terminate theprice stabilitymeasures of his predecessor,Hassan Rouhani, by arguing that such measures were inefficient and led tocorruption.TheCentral Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iranbegan direct payments in the form of cash subsidies to Iran's public instead, with the government deploying an electroniccouponsystem as a form of price control to preventprice gougingin place of the import subsidies.
Despite Raisi promising that "prices on wheat, medicine, and petrol will not increase in any circumstances",the price of some food products rose by over 300%.Worsened by increasing prices of grain caused by the2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine,the price of flour rose to Rls.160,000 from the pre-discontinuation Rls.27,000 average.From inflation going up in the last few years,this is causing the poverty line rate to increase.
The demonstrations were initially concentrated in the Khuzestan province, beginning on 6 May. Iranian security forces allegedly used live ammunition to disperse protestors in theAbuzararea, and looting of grain stores occurred in the city of Izeh.State news agencyIRNAclaimed that demonstrators had looted several stores in the "past few days" in Izeh. In several videos posted to social media, riot police reportedly usedtear gasand live ammunition on many occasions.As protests spread nationwide on the night of 12 May, Iranian forces arrested 15 demonstrators in the Khuzestani city of Dezful.Protestors in the cities of Ahwaz, and Dezful chanted slogans calling for the "death to the dictator".IRNA claimed that demonstratorsthrew stonesat police andfirefighters, causing the injury of a firefighter. ThePeople's Mojahedin Organization of Iranclaimed that Iranian security forces used live ammunition against demonstrators in the city of Andimeshk.One person was killed during clashes on May 12.
Demonstrations spread nationwide on the night of 12 May.Protests in the cities of Shahr-e Kord inChaharmahal and Bakhtiari provincegrew to 200 persons on the night of 12 May, with social media reports indicating that unrest had spread further to the cities ofArdabil,Rasht, andIranshahr.By 24 May, protests had spread to 40 cities and towns across Iran.