Iranian truck owners and drivers have launched a strike in seven of Iran's 31 provinces to protest poor working conditions.

Iranian social media users shared details and images of Tuesday's strike with VOA Persian. They said it involved truckers in the provinces of Fars, Hormozgan, Isfahan, Kerman, Khorasan Razavi, Lorestan and Qazvin.

In one video clip sent to VOA Persian and posted on the VOA Farsi Twitter account, a female truck driver says she is joining the strike in solidarity with her colleagues. She also identifies her location as a highway to the city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

Images of the truckers shared on social media showed them holding signs complaining about their costs rising while their salaries stagnate. The truckers said the rising costs included insurance, road tolls, commissions, repairs and spare parts.

It was not clear how long the strike would continue. There was no immediate response to the truckers' demands from Iranian authorities on state media.

Various Iranian industries have seen an increase in strikes and protests this year by workers fed up with local and national officials and business owners, whom they accuse of mismanagement and corruption.</s>A semi-official Iranian news agency is reporting that truck drivers in four provinces in the country are on strike over low wages.

The semi-official ILNA news agency reported on Wednesday that the strike is taking place in Qazvin, Lorestan, East Azerbaijan and Mazandaran province.

ILNA says the strike began on Tuesday over drivers complaining that their wages are not enough to cover their expenses. It wasn't clear from the report how many drivers are taking part in the strike or how long it's supposed to last.

According to ILNA, the drivers also say their expenses have increased since last year, including for tires and air filters.

The protest comes as Iran has seen President Donald Trump pull out of the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, putting new strains on the Mideast country's economy.</s>A newly launched strike by Iranian truckers in seven of Iran’s provinces appears to have alarmed the government, jolting officials into trying to persuade the drivers to return to work.

The Iranian state-run news agency Tasnim quoted a transport official on Wednesday as saying it is “reasonable” for truck drivers to demand greater fees for transporting cargo to compensate for their rising costs. The official, Dariush Amani of Iran’s Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, said the cargo fees paid to the drivers should be increased by 15 to 20 percent.

It was not immediately clear how or when such a cargo fee increase would be implemented. The official who proposed it works under Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.

Iranian truckers began the strike Tuesday in the provinces of Fars, Hormozgan, Isfahan, Kerman, Khorasan Razavi, Lorestan and Qazvin, according to Iranians who notified and sent images to VOA Persian. In the images, the striking truckers displayed signs complaining of the rising costs of insurance, road tolls, commissions, repairs and spare parts as wages stagnate.

Iranian state media said the strike continued into Wednesday, with gasoline truck drivers refusing to supply gas stations in the provinces of Fars and Isfahan in the morning hours. The reports said public concerns about gasoline shortages resulting from the strike led to long lines at gas stations in the cities of Shiraz and Isfahan, the capitals of Fars and Isfahan provinces.

But, the Iranian news agencies quoted officials of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company as saying they quickly agreed to address the truckers’ concerns in both provinces. The reports said the fueling of gas stations in the regions returned to normal later Wednesday.

Iran’s Islamist rulers long have worried that gasoline shortages could trigger social unrest. The 2-day-old strike is the first mass protest by Iranian truck drivers since anti-government demonstrations began sweeping Iran last December.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA’s Persian Service.
Iranian truck owners and drivers start striking in seven provinces to protest poor working conditions.