For three consecutive days, from November 10 to 12, 2025, nurses in Mashhad raised their voices in anger and protest against the regime’s exploitative and inhumane policies. A large number of the protesting nurses were women.
The demonstrations of nurses followed ongoing strikes by nurses in Kermanshah, Zanjan, Yazd, Isfahan, and several other cities, which have continued over recent months.
Three Days of Protests by Nurses in Mashhad
On Wednesday, November 12, nurses in Mashhad gathered in protest at Akbar Children’s Hospital, voicing their anger and demands. They chanted: “Nurses get crushed while officials fill their pockets,” “Without nurses, the system collapses,” and “The tariff is our right, but the money is in your pockets.”
Through these chants, the nurses expressed their outrage over discrimination, unpaid bonuses, and the regime’s false promises, emphasizing that the current situation can no longer continue.
Earlier, on Monday and Tuesday (November 10 and 11), they had held similar gatherings at Qaem and Imam Reza hospitals, where they protested against the regime’s exploitative policies, chanting slogans such as: “Nurses, shout out your rights” and nurses may die, but they won’t bow to humiliation.”
At the same time, on November 11, 2025, employees of the Welfare Organization across Iran also staged protests against discrimination and low wages. These demonstrations continued into November 12, with women playing a prominent and active role.
A Health System on the Brink of Collapse
Even state-run media have acknowledged that Iran’s healthcare system, especially the nursing sector, is under unprecedented strain. Without urgent measures to recruit, retain, and genuinely support nurses, not only will the quality of care in public hospitals deteriorate, but the overall health of Iran’s population will face a serious threat.
Qassem Aboutalebi, head of the Supreme Nursing Council, admitted: “Right now, we are short of 165,000 nurses nationwide… The ratio of nurses to hospital beds in Iran is 0.9, while the global standard is three nurses per bed.” (Fars News Agency – October 22, 2025)
Globally, the standard is 3 to 5 hospital beds per 1,000 people, but in Iran, the figure is just 1.6 beds. This means that the number of nurses in Iran, relative to its population, is at least six times below international standards. Meanwhile, according to the Secretary-General of the Nursing Association, an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 trained nurses are unemployed and staying at home. (Eghtesad24 – November 11, 2025)
This deadly shortage has forced nurses to care for an average of 12 patients each, (Hamshahri Online – October 27, 2025), a situation that, according to the same source, has directly led to patients dying in hospitals. (Asr Iran – March 29, 2025)
Meager Salaries, Unpaid Wages, and a Wave of Migration
The monthly salary of many nurses is around 20 million tomans, while just seven months ago, the relative poverty line was estimated at over 35 million tomans. (Rokna – March 22, 2025)
Even this meager income is often paid with months of delay. Basir Hashemi, head of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, admitted: “Fars Province is actually ahead of other regions, with only a two-month delay in payments, while in some provinces, nurses’ back pay has been delayed for seven to eight months.” (Fars News Agency – October 22, 2025)
The pressure on nurses has become so severe that more than 3,000 nurses leave the country every year. (Asr Iran – March 29, 2025)
