In Kerman, a major agricultural and commercial hub in southern Iran, local bakers this week took to the streets in an unorthodox protest against chronic, unscheduled electricity blackouts that have paralyzed daily life and business operations across the country. The demonstrators, angered by the mounting toll on their livelihoods, gathered outside the offices of the regional electric company and hurled spoiled dough—rendered useless by repeated outages—at the building’s entrance, drawing national and international attention to an escalating economic emergency.
The protest signals a depth of frustration seldom seen so openly in Iran, where fear of repression often keeps economic grievances from spilling into public view. For Kerman’s bakers—whose businesses depend on stable power for refrigeration, dough mixing, and bread production—the reliability of electricity is an existential issue. The recent wave of blackouts has led to ruined goods, irreparable equipment damage, and losses that threaten to close family bakeries, many of which have operated for generations.
According to several bakers interviewed by citizen journalists and opposition networks, a single blackout can result in days’ worth of production lost, with perishable inventory quickly becoming unsellable. The financial consequences are immediate: lost income, unpaid wages, and shuttered shops. “We simply can’t afford to operate like this,” explained one baker, who requested anonymity due to security concerns. “Every time the power goes out, our dough spoils, our expenses rise, and the people who depend on us suffer.”
The electricity crisis afflicting Kerman and much of Iran is the product of years of economic mismanagement, underinvestment, and the government’s decision to prioritize military and ideological projects over civilian infrastructure. Despite sitting atop some of the world’s largest reserves of oil and gas, Iran’s civilian power grid remains antiquated and fragile. International observers and economic analysts attribute this failure not only to global sanctions, but also to the regime’s allocation of resources toward supporting terrorist proxies and regional destabilization operations—including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and various militias and groups aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
In recent months, business leaders and local officials in Kerman have pressed Tehran to address the mounting crisis, demanding urgent investment and transparent plans for grid stability. However, appeals have been met with vague promises and shifting blame to external actors. Meanwhile, bakers and other small businesses, especially in the food sector, have borne the brunt of the disruption. With bread being a staple food and symbol of economic stability, the spectacle of bakers flinging ruined dough at government buildings has resonated as a powerful condemnation of the regime’s failures.
Iran’s pattern of rolling blackouts has had a cascading effect on the national economy. In addition to direct losses in the food sector, extended outages have crippled factories, halted manufacturing lines, and caused failures in communications and healthcare. Experts warn that these compounded disruptions threaten to deepen already high unemployment and accelerate inflation, which has eroded the purchasing power of ordinary Iranians.
Fueling further unrest is a widespread perception that the regime’s priorities are fundamentally misaligned with public needs. As Iran channels billions into supporting so-called “axis of resistance” terror operations targeting Israel and others in the West, basic services at home have deteriorated alarmingly. The IRGC’s sprawling economic and military interests, say critics, come at the expense of the population—a narrative reinforced by the sharp contrast with Israel’s robust, resilient infrastructure, developed even while confronting constant security threats from Iranian-backed terror groups.
The backdrop to Kerman’s protest is the ongoing campaign of Iranian-sponsored violence across the Middle East, from the October 7, 2023 massacre perpetrated by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel—the deadliest antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust—to rocket attacks by Hezbollah and the Houthis. The Iranian regime’s unwavering support for such terror operations is widely documented: advanced weapons, tactical coordination, and substantial financing all flow from Tehran, while its own citizens struggle with power outages, medical shortages, and food insecurity back home.
While Iranian state media downplayed the Kerman incident as isolated, social networks and opposition activists quickly spread images and reports, fueling broader demands for accountability. Several participants in the dough-throwing protest were reportedly questioned by local authorities, according to sources inside Iran’s burgeoning underground labor movement. Watchdog organizations warn that intensified security crackdowns may be imminent, as the regime seeks to stifle any sign of organized dissent.
The growing unrest in Iran’s labor sector is part of a wider pattern of civil discontent, encompassing strikes by oil workers, teachers, and truckers. Observers note that Baker’s protest may embolden others to stage similar demonstrations, turning spoiled dough into a national symbol of regime mismanagement.
For Israel and its allies, the internal strains within Iran are significant. Security officials highlight that every dollar spent by Tehran on extraterritorial terror activities further undermines its ability and willingness to meet urgent civilian needs. Thus, the Kerman bakers’ protest is not only an indictment of a regime that devalues its own citizens, but also a stark warning to the international community of the inherent dangers in Iran’s current policies—policies that perpetuate instability at home and export violence abroad.
As conditions worsen, and anger in cities like Kerman grows, the world is reminded that the costs of the Iranian regime’s imperial ambitions are borne most severely by its own people. Unless the government reverses course on both domestic and foreign policy, such protests are likely to become more frequent and more widespread, amplifying calls for accountability from within and beyond Iran’s borders.
