Iran medicine shortages reach antibiotics and fertility drugs - IRNA

Iranian labor activist Ali Nejati said protest was “the only path left” for Social Security retirees as pensions and wages fall further behind rising living costs, the welfare website Qalamro Refah reported.

Nejati, a retired Haft Tappeh Sugarcane worker, said not only retirees but also workers, teachers and employees were facing severe pressure under Iran’s current economic conditions.

He described prices, medical costs and housing expenses as “disastrous,” saying wages had been overwhelmed by inflation.

Nejati said the minimum monthly wage for workers covered by Iran’s labor law, around 166 million rials, about $92, rising to about 230 million rials, about $128, with benefits, remained “below the poverty line.”

He said Social Security retirees had protested in recent years but officials “do not hear the voices of workers and retirees.”

Nejati said the Social Security fund was facing shortages because companies had shut down, contributions had fallen and the government had not paid its debts to the fund.

“The only path left for retirees is protest,” he said.

He added that officials were telling retirees not to protest because the country was in wartime and crisis conditions, but warned that if talks with Social Security officials produced no result, retirees would again take their demands to the streets “as they did in previous years.”

An Iraqi national accused of involvement in multiple attacks and attempted attacks against US interests in Europe and the United States has been arrested and brought to the United States to face six terrorism-related charges, according to the US Justice Department.

Prosecutors said Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi was a senior member of Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia, and accused him of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

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US Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York said Al-Saadi was accused of coordinating or supporting nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States, “including his efforts to kill on US soil.”

The US government and independent experts say Kata’ib Hezbollah operates at the direction of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

US officials said Al-Saadi was taken into American custody overseas and transported to the United States, where he appeared before a magistrate judge and was ordered detained pending trial. ABC News reported he was detained in Turkey and handed over to US authorities.

Prosecutors allege Al-Saadi directed and encouraged attacks on US and Israeli targets, including efforts to kill Americans and Jewish civilians, as part of a broader campaign tied to Iranian-backed militant groups.

Court documents cited by officials describe attacks linked to Al-Saadi and his associates that included bombings, arson and assaults targeting American interests abroad. Officials also allege he discussed possible attacks inside the United States, including potential targets in New York, California and Arizona.

President Donald Trump returned from China facing growing pressure over whether to resume military operations against Iran after diplomacy failed to produce a breakthrough, according to a New York Times report published Friday.

Citing Middle Eastern officials, the report said US and Israeli officials are weighing possible next steps as tensions continue over Iran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz.

The discussions come after three days of talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where Trump said Xi stressed the importance of keeping the strategic waterway open.

The New York Times reported that officials are considering different military and diplomatic scenarios as Washington confronts what some analysts describe as an increasingly unstable stalemate with Tehran.

China is showing growing unease over the economic and strategic costs of Iran’s confrontation with the United States, even as it continues to shield Tehran diplomatically at the United Nations.

US President Donald Trump said during his recent visit to Beijing that Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.

Although Beijing has yet to release customs data for April, March figures already point to a sharp collapse in Chinese exports to the region.

According to Chinese customs statistics, exports to Persian Gulf countries fell to just $5.7 billion during March—the first month of Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—down from $13.2 billion the previous month.

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Mikail Bagheri, director general for Quran, Etrat and Prayer Affairs at the ministry, told ILNA news agency that Quran instruction is continuing through online platforms alongside other school subjects.

He said Quran classes in primary schools are taught by general teachers, while specialized Quran instructors handle the subject in secondary education.

Bagheri also said Iran launched around 200 official Quran memorization schools across the country last year and plans to expand the program further.