Diplomacy Abroad, Disobedience at Home: Inside Iran’s Truck Drivers’ Strike
As Iranian officials pursue high-stakes negotiations with the West, a massive truck drivers’ strike has quietly brought the country’s economy to a crawl.
“I’m about to have a child. I desperately need the money — but I decided to join the strike,” said a truck driver in a call to the popular London-based satellite channel Manoto TV. “The roads have been empty since the strike began last week,” he added, urging other drivers to join the growing movement.
The nationwide strike, which erupted spontaneously on 22 May, has swept across at least 135 cities in Iran. It began as a reaction to a sudden spike in insurance premiums and a new government cap on subsidised gasoline — effectively a fuel price hike. The call to strike spread rapidly via Telegram, a widely used messaging app in Iran. It originated from a grassroots group calling itself the Union of Truck Drivers and Truck Owners — an informal body, as official unions in Iran are tightly regulated and monitored to prevent any collective action that could turn political.
Despite the lack of formal organisation, the movement has spread like wildfire. Thousands of drivers have parked their trucks along highways, at rest stops, and in parking lots across the country. Many are sharing videos and photos of their halted vehicles on social media — a quiet yet powerful form of defiance. While Iranian state television has ignored the strike, Manoto TV — known for platforming citizen journalists — has been inundated with footage and phone calls from striking drivers.
The channel’s daily call-in show has become an outlet for drivers to voice their frustrations.
“I don’t own my truck. I work for someone else,” said Hamid, a driver from Isfahan. “I work 18 hours a day, hauling every kind of cargo across the country. Eighteen hours isn’t a joke! I have to work like this just to cover expenses and feed my family.”
Hamid described the relentless pressure he’s under. “As soon as I stop to rest, the truck’s owner — who’s tracking me — calls to say I need to move. He needs to make money too.” He added: “And the roads in Iran are some of the most dangerous in the world. I’m exhausted. No one in power cares about our situation. That’s why we had to take a stand.”
Solidarity Spreads
Ordinary citizens have joined the striking drivers in a rare show of national unity. Social media has been flooded with videos of empty highways, posted with messages of support.
“Mashallah to the drivers,” said one man in a video sent to Manoto. “This road used to be full of trucks. Now look — empty. This is the picture of unity.”
Others have called for practical support. “We must stand with the drivers — not just with words, but with action,” said a citizen journalist from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. “If your tenant is a truck driver on strike, don’t collect rent this month. They have no income. They’re standing up for all of us.”
The economic impact has been immediate. “Fuel stations will run dry. Markets will be empty. Every part of the economy depends on these drivers,” the same citizen added. “Without them, the system grinds to a halt.”
With summer looming, Iran is already facing multiple overlapping crises: a severe drought, worsening water shortages, and daily power outages. Years of neglect and mismanagement have left the infrastructure fragile. In this context, the truckers’ strike could become a national tipping point.
Beyond Sanctions and Negotiations
While the regime tries to pin the country’s troubles on US sanctions — and continues to pursue backchannel negotiations with Washington — many Iranians are unconvinced.
“These negotiations mean nothing,” said Asghar, a truck driver from Qazvin, in a call to Manoto. “When have they ever helped us? We’re tired. The problem is something else,” he added, alluding to the regime’s corruption and failure to govern.
“They’ll make a deal, but the money won’t reach us,” said Maryam, a caller from Tehran. “They’ll send it to Lebanon and Gaza. That’s how it always goes.”
Regime Response: Suppression and Smear Campaigns
After several days of silence, Iranian officials finally acknowledged the strike — only to dismiss it as the work of “enemy satellite TV stations,” a veiled reference to Manoto and others covering the story. Reports soon emerged of drivers being arrested for encouraging others to strike.
The government, eager to maintain a façade of stability during international negotiations, is clearly nervous. While the truckers’ protest has not yet turned explicitly political, its sheer scale and discipline, a rare act of coordinated civil disobedience, poses a threat.
“In free countries, a strike means people have demands, and governments must respond,” said exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi in an interview with me and Tina Ghazimorad, Editor-in-Chief of Manoto TV. “But when people go on strike under a brutal regime, and still risk everything, the world sees something different — a government weaker than it appears.”
Pahlavi, widely seen as the most prominent figure in Iran’s opposition, went further: “Eventually the world will understand that this regime doesn’t serve its people. It rules by suppression and execution. That matters in the calculations of foreign powers negotiating with Iran. They’ll begin to ask: how long can this regime last?”
He called on other sectors to support the strike: “We know drivers pay for their vehicle parts and tyres in instalments with post-dated cheques. If you want to help, don’t cash those cheques this month. They haven’t earned a rial.”
Attempts to Break the Strike
As the strike continued into its second week, reports of internal tensions surfaced. Videos posted online — many verified by Manoto — show striking drivers confronting those who attempted to cross the picket line. Some incidents reportedly escalated into attacks on trucks that ignored the strike, though details remain unconfirmed.
In an effort to keep goods moving, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly deployed military drivers to operate lorries, with military escorts accompanying some convoys. Footage shows unmistakable signs of military involvement — a rare move that underscores the regime’s alarm.
Officials have also shifted the narrative, accusing truck drivers of causing shortages of essential goods like medicine and oxygen. In response, the drivers have taken to social media with a symbolic rebuttal.
Videos show trucks clearly marked with banners: “We are not breaking the strike. This truck — license plate visible — is delivering oxygen capsules to hospitals.” Others read: “For the sake of our compatriots, we are only transporting emergency medical supplies.”
To underscore their point, these trucks return from deliveries with their cargo doors wide open, visibly empty. It’s a small but powerful act of transparency, a statement that the strike is not against the people, but for them.
History Echoes
This is now the largest nationwide labour strike since the 1979 Islamic Revolution — a revolution that gained momentum through similar cross-sector strikes against the Shah’s monarchy. The echoes are unmistakable.
Are we witnessing another pivotal moment in Iran’s political life?
Time — and the streets — will tell.