“We are struggling to pay [state employees],” a[n] [Iranian] government official acknowledged. “The government is under massive financial pressure and has resorted to many lay-offs.”

Rouhani faces growing pressure as sanctions and lower oil prices bite
Economists fear the country could go into a tailspin if it fails to reach a deal with the west
NAJMEH BOZORGMEHR — TEHRAN

   It is unusual for teachers, or any other group, to defy an official ban on protests in Iran.

 

   Yet tens of thousands of teachers gathered on Sunday for a “silent” protest outside the parliament in Tehran and other cities against wages they say have pushed them into poverty.

 

   “We are struggling to pay [state employees],” a government official acknowledged. “The government is under massive financial pressure and has resorted to many lay-offs.”

 

   The peaceful demonstrations do not constitute a crisis for Iran’s government. But they are a reminder of the pressure on President Hassan Rouhani as talks with leading world powers over the country’s nuclear programme reach a crunch point.