Truck drivers across Iran have been on strike for four days as of Sunday, the National Council of Resistance of Iran reported.The strike severely disrupted transportation networks in over 40 cities and exposed growing discontent with the regime’s economic policies. It began in response to a controversial government plan to introduce a tiered diesel pricing system, which drivers say threatens to drive them out of business.
This protest has since galvanized other sectors of Iranian society, many of which are already struggling under the weight of chronic inflation, fuel shortages, and government mismanagement.
Videos of strikes and protests by truck drivers in Tehran and Sirjan.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/GbGfKvfN2x
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 25, 2025
Truckers from cities including Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Bandar Abbas, Sanandaj, and Dorud have parked their vehicles in protest, refusing to load to transport goods. According to local reports, cargo terminals, markets, and industrial depots have been left idle for days.
At the heart of the protest is the government’s plan to adjust diesel prices using a three-tiered system. While the current subsidized rate of 300 tomans (approximately $0.006 USD) per liter would remain for registered fleets with online freight documentation, many drivers expect they will be forced to purchase diesel at significantly higher rates – either semi-subsidized (around 28,500 tomans) or full market price based on Persian Gulf FOB rates (up to 42,000 tomans).
Barely covering operational costs
Drivers have argued that, even at a subsidized rate, current freight payments barely cover operational costs. With fuel prices expected to rise dramatically, they claimed they had no choice but to strike.
In addition to fuel costs, they cited high insurance premiums, expensive repair fees, road tolls, and insufficient diesel quotas as persistent challenges.
“We will not start [our trucks] until you give a real guarantee,” the Union of Truckers and Drivers Association of Iran said in a statement on Sunday. “Protest is not a crime, but our legal right. A driver protesting for his bread and dignity is not a rioter.”
In Sanandaj, security forces responded to the strike with arrests and pepper spray, according to reports from the scene. The union criticized the regime’s outreach efforts – including visits by officials from the Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization – as superficial attempts to contain the protests.
“Behind the smiles and media promises lie suppression and intimidation,” the union said. “But we drivers will not be fooled by these shows. Not today, not tomorrow.”
Javad Nikbin, a member of the Iranian parliament’s budget committee, dismissed the scale of the protests, calling them “unnatural” and blaming outside influences.
“Truckers, miners, and factory owners are protesting. This volume of protests is unnatural. It seems a hidden hand is pushing people toward unrest,” he claimed.
The Iranian government claimed the fuel pricing reform is intended to reduce smuggling and improve efficiency. However, truckers said bureaucratic delays and fuel shortages already force many to pay inflated prices on the open market, undermining the rationale for the new pricing structure.