Latest news with #Dadban
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Truck drivers across Iran continue rare strike for sixth consecutive day
Representative Image Truck drivers across Iran continued a rare and prolonged strike for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday, demanding better working conditions in a sector vital to the country's economy. While labor strikes are permitted under Iranian law, the scale and persistence of this protest are unusual. The strike, which began in the southwestern port city of Bandar Abbas, has quickly expanded nationwide, with reported stoppages in Isfahan, Shiraz, Tehran Province, and Kermanshah, according to Persian-language media and monitoring groups outside Iran. Drivers are voicing frustration over surging insurance premiums, low freight rates, high fuel costs, and poor road safety, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Images shared on social media appeared to show rows of idle trucks in major cities, though these visuals have not been independently verified. The rights group Dadban reported incidents of security forces confronting demonstrators, and the Fars Province prosecutor confirmed the arrests of individuals allegedly blocking roadways. The state-aligned newspaper Kayhan dismissed the strike as being manipulated by 'opportunistic elements,' while Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf acknowledged the truckers' critical role in the supply chain and urged the government to address their grievances promptly. Road transport is essential for food distribution across Iran's vast terrain.
Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Truck drivers in Iran enter sixth day of rare nationwide strike
Truck drivers across Iran were on Tuesday pressing the sixth day of a strike rare in its length and magnitude, seeking better conditions in a sector crucial for the economy in the Islamic Republic. After starting last week in the southwestern port city of Bandar Abbas, the strike action has spread across the country, according to reports by monitoring groups on social media and Persian-language media based outside Iran. The truck drivers are protesting a rise in insurance premiums, poor road security, high fuel prices and low freight rates, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said. It posted images showing what it said were dozens of stationary trucks in the central city of Isfahan and in Shiraz in the south, while reports also indicated similar actions in Tehran province and Kermanshah in the west. It was not immediately possible to independently verify the images. Strikes do take place on occasion in the Islamic Republic, whose labor law does allow for such stoppages. However this strike is unusual in terms of its duration and nationwide scale. The Dadban rights monitor wrote on social media that there had already been instances of security forces attacking the drivers' protests and cited Kamran Mirhaji, the southern Fars province prosecutor, as saying a number of people 'who prevented the movement of trucks' had been arrested. Iran International TV, based outside the country and often critical of the authorities, broadcast videos it said had been sent from inside the country showing roads deserted that would normally have been packed with trucks. Inside Iran, the hardline daily Kayhan meanwhile lashed out at what it described as 'opportunistic elements' attempting to exploit the situation over the 'economic and professional grievances of the country's road freight operators.' Road transport is critical to food supply in the vast country. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was quoted as saying truckers were a 'key link in the production and supply chain' and urging the government to act swiftly.
Malay Mail
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
From prison to Palme d'Or: Jafar Panahi's triumphant return to Iran
PARIS, May 27 — Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi received a hero's welcome from supporters on his return to Tehran on Monday after winning the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, footage posted on social media showed. After being banned from leaving Iran for years, forced to make films underground and enduring spells in prison, Panahi attended the French festival in person and sensationally walked away with the Palme d'Or for his latest movie, It Was Just an Accident. With some fans concerned that Panahi could face trouble on his return to Iran, he arrived without incident in the early hours of Monday at Tehran's main international airport, named after the founder of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Panahi was cheered by supporters waiting in the public area as he descended the escalator from passport control to baggage collection, footage posted by the Dadban legal monitor showed on social media. One person could be heard shouting 'Woman. Life. Freedom!' – the slogan of the 2022–2023 protest movement that shook the Iranian authorities. On exiting, he was greeted by around a dozen supporters who had stayed up to welcome him, according to footage posted on Instagram by Iranian director Mehdi Naderi and broadcast by the Iran International Channel, which is based outside Iran. Smiling broadly and waving, he was cheered, applauded, hugged and presented with flowers. 'Fresh blood in the veins of Iranian independent cinema,' Naderi wrote. 'He arrived in Tehran early this morning' and 'has returned home,' French film producer Philippe Martin told AFP, citing his entourage. 'He has even learned that he has obtained a visa to go to a festival in Sydney in about ten days' time,' he said. The Sydney Film Festival has a retrospective of his work called 'Cinema in Rebellion'. 'Gesture of resistance' The warm welcome at the airport contrasted with the lukewarm reaction from Iranian state media and officials to the first Palme d'Or for an Iranian filmmaker since The Taste of Cherry by the late Abbas Kiarostami in 1997. While reported by state media including the IRNA news agency, Panahi's triumph has received only minimal coverage inside Iran and has also sparked a diplomatic row with France. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called his victory 'a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression' in a post on X, prompting Tehran to summon France's chargé d'affaires to protest the 'insulting' comments. 'I am not an art expert, but we believe that artistic events and art in general should not be exploited to pursue political objectives,' said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. The film is politically charged, showing five Iranians confronting a man they believe tortured them in prison, a story inspired by Panahi's own time in detention. After winning the prize, Panahi made a call for freedom in Iran. 'Let's set aside all problems, all differences. What matters most right now is our country and the freedom of our country.' Fellow Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who presented his politically charged latest film The Seed of the Sacred Fig at the 2024 festival after fleeing Iran, paid tribute to Panahi. 'It won't be long before It Was Just an Accident reaches its primary audience: the people of Iran,' Rasoulof wrote on Instagram, adding that 'the decayed and hollow machinery of censorship under the Islamic Republic has been pushed back.' — AFP
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jafar Panahi returns to Iran in triumph after Cannes Palme d'Or win
Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi was given a hero's welcome on his return to Tehran on Monday after winning the top prize at the Cannes film festival, footage posted on social media showed. After being banned from leaving Iran for years, forced to make films underground and enduring spells in prison, Panahi attended the film festival in person and sensationally walked away with the Palme d'Or for his latest movie It Was Just an Accident. With some supporters concerned that Panahi could face trouble on his return to Iran, he arrived without incident at Tehran's main international airport, named after the founder of the 1979 Islamic revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in the early hours of Monday. He was immediately cheered by supporters waiting in the public area as he descended the escalator from passport control to baggage collection, footage posted by the Dadban legal monitor on social media showed. One person could be heard shouting 'Woman, life, freedom!', the slogan of the 2022-2023 protest movement that shook the Iranian authorities. On exiting, he was greeted by around a dozen supporters who had stayed up to welcome him, according to footage posted on Instagram by the Iranian director Mehdi Naderi and broadcast by the Iran International channel which is based outside Iran. Smiling broadly and waving, he was cheered, applauded, hugged and presented with flowers. 'Fresh blood in the veins of Iranian independent cinema,' wrote Naderi. The warm welcome from fans at the airport contrasted with the lukewarm reaction from Iranian state media and officials to the first time an Iranian film-maker was awarded the Palme d'Or since Taste of Cherry by the late Abbas Kiarostami in 1997. While mentioned by state media such as the IRNA news agency, Panahi's triumph has received only limited coverage inside Iran and has also sparked a diplomatic row with France. French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot called his victory 'a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression' in a post on X, prompting Tehran to summon France's chargé d'affaires to protest against the 'insulting' comments. 'I am not an art expert, but we believe that artistic events and art in general should not be exploited to pursue political objectives,' said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. The film is politically charged, showing five Iranians confronting a man they believe tortured them in prison, a story inspired by Panahi's own time in detention. After winning the prize, Panahi also made a resounding call for freedom in Iran. 'Let's set aside all problems, all differences. What matters most right now is our country and the freedom of our country.'
Express Tribune
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Iran directors get jail time for acclaimed film
An Iranian court has handed two Iranian film directors suspended jail terms over a film that angered authorities in the Islamic republic but was acclaimed in Europe and the United States, rights groups said on Thursday. Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha were convicted earlier this week by a Revolutionary Court for the film My Favourite Cake, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and Dadban legal monitor said in separate statements. The film, which competed at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival and won prizes in Europe and the United States, shows the voyage of discovery of an elderly woman in Tehran who notably appears in the film without the headscarf that is obligatory for women in Iran. The pair were sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for five years, and a fine on charges of "spreading lies with the intention of disturbing public opinion", Dadban said. In addition, they were sentenced to one year in prison, also suspended for five years, and all equipment ordered confiscated for the charge of "participating in the production of vulgar content". Another fine was ordered on the charge of "showing a film without a screening licence", it added. "Artists in Iran endure significant hardships, including increasing censorship, arbitrary detentions, and the constant threat of legal repercussions for expressing dissent through their work," said the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, commenting on the verdict. Even before their conviction, Moghaddam and Sanaeeha were banned from leaving Iran to attend the Berlin film festival and then promote the film when it was released in Europe. "We wanted to tell the story of the reality of our lives, which is about those forbidden things like singing, dancing, not wearing hijab at home, which no one does at home," Moghaddam told AFP in an interview earlier this year. AFP
