According to reports received by the Karoon Human Rights Organization, on September 18, 2026, a group of job-seeking young people from the Salah al-Din area (Mianrud), in Qonaitreh (Dezful) County, staged a protest and sit-in outside the entrance of the Beheshti Agro-Industrial Company. The protesters were demonstrating against widespread unemployment, the failure to employ local workers, and what they described as unfulfilled promises by officials.
According to the protesters, the large company, which is affiliated with the Iranian military and the Etka Organization, controls thousands of hectares of agricultural land in the area and has extensive industrial facilities. They said that despite these resources, the company has for years refused to recruit and employ local young people. Instead, the workforce required by the company is reportedly recruited predominantly from outside the area through a process that protesters describe as lacking transparency.
The protesters emphasized that despite several days having passed since the demonstration began under the region’s intense heat, the company’s management has so far refused to meet with the young people or respond to their legitimate employment demands.
Criticism of Broken Promises by Local and Provincial Officials
The protesters strongly criticized what they described as the systematic indifference of local and provincial authorities. They stated that officials including Seyyed Hassan Papizadeh, a member of parliament; city council members Seyyed Nasser Mousavi, Seyyed Mehdi Ahmad Pahlavan, and Seyyed Mahmoud Khani; Mayor Seyyed Aho Qalandari; Hojjat al-Islam Alavi, the Friday prayer leader; and the company’s management have for years limited their response to the employment crisis to promises that have not been followed by practical action. According to the protesters, no meaningful recruitment of local workers has taken place.
The protesting young people also pointed to the expansion of poverty and social problems resulting from unemployment. They stressed that while the company’s vast lands are located next to their communities and on what they describe as their ancestral lands, and despite the area’s significant potential for creating employment, local young people continue to struggle with unemployment and a lack of adequate income.
The protest continued with repeated chants of “Employment, employment.” The protesters called for an end to what they described as a policy of making empty promises, urged relevant authorities to intervene decisively, and demanded immediate practical measures to recruit and employ young people from the local area.
The Karoon Human Rights Organization condemns the failure of local authorities and the management of Beheshti Agro-Industrial Company to address the employment demands of local young people and the ongoing unemployment crisis. The organization calls for immediate and practical action to address the lawful demands of young people in the area and to ensure equal employment opportunities for local workers.
