TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A semi-official Iranian news agency says authorities detained an unspecified number of steel mill workers after five weeks of protests over delays in salaries.
ILNA's report says the arrests took place on Sunday night. However, Kasra Ghafouri, the head of state-owned National Iranian Steel Group, insists the workers were only "summoned," not detained. The report did not elaborate further.
The factory in Ahvaz, the capital of southwestern oil-rich Khuzestan province, was founded in early 1960s and has nearly 4,000 workers. It was privatized in 2008 but following financial problems, its ownership returned to a government bank in 2016.
Iran is in the grip of an economic crisis and has seen sporadic protests in recent months as officials try to downplay the effects of the newly restored U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
