Iran’s education and public sector have been forced into a dramatic schedule overhaul in response to a critical electricity shortage plaguing the country. Effective immediately, schools across the Islamic Republic now begin the academic day at 6 a.m., a measure announced by Education Ministry spokesperson Ali Farhadi and implemented in parallel with a recent order requiring all government offices to open at the same unusually early hour. The decision is described by officials as a necessity to ‘optimally manage the country’s energy consumption.’ This abrupt adjustment, imposed on tens of millions of Iranian families and civil servants, underscores the extent of the power crisis disrupting normal life in Iran, a nation already reeling from chronic infrastructure failures, international isolation, and heavy economic pressure.
The roots of Iran’s current electricity crisis are deep and systemic. Years of underinvestment in energy infrastructure, rapid population growth, and widespread mismanagement have rendered the national grid unfit to meet consumer demand—especially at peak hours during the sweltering summer months. Although Iran retains vast energy resources, particularly oil and gas, the impact of international sanctions has severely curtailed the regime’s ability to modernize generation capacity or import critical technology and spare parts. As a result, power outages and rolling blackouts have become commonplace in major cities and provincial centers alike, with frequent, sometimes days-long disruptions to daily life, industry, and essential services.
Iranian authorities cite efficiency and coordination with hot weather peaks as the primary motives behind advancing public start times. However, independent analysts, as well as reports from international organizations monitoring Iran’s energy sector, attribute these measures to structural failings and an acute shortage of operable power plants, compounded by aging, poorly maintained equipment. The state’s limited investment in renewable energy solutions has not yielded significant relief. Public frustration has thus continued to mount, as families now must navigate altered routines—waking children and preparing them for school well before dawn, often during the hottest and most humid months of the year.
For many Iranians, the new schedule has introduced significant hardship. Changes to school and governmental operations have forced households, particularly women and working mothers, to shoulder increased logistical burdens. Many parents face the challenge of safely transporting children through poorly lit, often unsecured neighborhoods during hours when public transportation is inadequate or unavailable. This shift has also raised concerns about student well-being, with medical experts warning of the negative effects early wake times and insufficient sleep may have on young children’s learning, development, and physical health.
These domestic strains are exacerbated by the regime’s persistent diversion of resources away from national needs and towards its regional ambitions. Billions of dollars continue to be funneled from vital domestic sectors into the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Tehran’s regional network of proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and affiliated Iraqi and Syrian militias. This pattern, well-documented by independent observers and multiple Western governments, has left the Iranian grid unrepaired and the population underserved. Corruption at state-run utility companies and opaque procurement practices further hinder the efficient allocation of resources, dissuading foreign and private sector investment.
Iran’s senior leadership, particularly Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the hardline clerical establishment, continue to publicly blame Western sanctions for the country’s chronic infrastructural woes. State media regularly airs messages asserting that the United States and its allies, especially Israel, seek to destabilize Iran by denying access to global finance and essential technologies. Nonetheless, a broad consensus among international energy experts and Iranian reform advocates holds that endemic mismanagement and the regime’s security-first budgetary priorities are the central causes of the power sector’s decline. While targeted international sanctions in response to Iran’s nuclear program and sponsorship of terror groups do limit access to capital and parts, numerous reports from the International Energy Agency and the United Nations indicate that internal inefficiencies and state priorities have played a decisive role in bringing the crisis to a head.
Parents voicing frustration online and through privately circulated messages have highlighted the widening credibility gap between government announcements and everyday experience. Regular blackouts, inoperable air conditioners, and the proliferation of small diesel generators—used as fallback during power cuts—have become symbols of daily hardship for millions. Labor strikes and sporadic public protests have at times erupted in regions hit especially hard by outages, such as Khuzestan, where heat indexes soar above 50 degrees Celsius. Despite the risks, some civic activists have called on authorities to restore regular hours and commit to long-term investment in the national grid, invoking Iran’s historical status as a regional energy exporter prior to its increased international isolation.
From a regional and geopolitical perspective, Iran’s electricity crisis stands in stark contrast to the investments made by rival states in energy security and resilience. While Israel and Gulf neighbors such as the United Arab Emirates have poured resources into building robust power infrastructures—including advanced renewables and grid-redundant capacities—Iran’s leadership has prioritized asymmetric military capabilities and ideological conflict. The crisis thus highlights differing models of governance and strategic orientation, with Western-aligned nations investing in stable public welfare systems as part of a broader doctrine of national security.
Iran’s present predicament also underscores the broader tensions and trade-offs inherent in authoritarian regimes that subordinate internal well-being to external ambitions. Investment in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—officially classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and many Western allies—has grown exponentially over the past decade, with extensive annual budgets allocated to developing missile capabilities, cyberwarfare assets, and supplying proxy groups. Israel’s security establishment and U.S. intelligence have repeatedly cited this pattern as evidence of Iran’s destabilizing intent throughout the Middle East. Western analysts see the domestic fallout from such policies as a potential vulnerability for the regime, albeit one that often exacts its greatest toll on ordinary citizens rather than the political elite.
As the school year proceeds under the new timetable, Iranian parents and educators remain left with few choices amid government insistence on emergency energy-saving measures. The start-time shift is widely acknowledged by both officials and independent observers as a temporary expedient rather than a sustainable solution. With long-term fixes hampered by continued political inflexibility, international isolation, and ongoing diversion of state funds, the risk of continued and deepening hardship appears substantial. Beyond personal inconvenience, the new public hours stand as a visible marker of state incapacity, underscored by the contradiction between Iran’s regional ambitions and mounting domestic crises.
For Western policymakers and international observers, Iran’s situation serves as a cautionary example of how internal mismanagement and ideological extremism can undermine national development. While sanctions and diplomatic isolation play undeniable roles, enduring infrastructure failures and the resulting shifts to daily life—such as the present alteration to school and work hours—reflect fundamental choices by Iran’s leadership, choices with far-reaching consequences for stability, legitimacy, and the welfare of future generations.
