Only a quarter of Iranians believe that the country enjoys a sense of justice and equality, according to the results of a survey published on Tuesday by Iran’s Deputy Interior Minister Seyyed Mohammad Bathaei.
Sharing the findings with the Iranian press, Bathaei said that “based on the latest results, only about 25% of people have a sense of justice and equality. This number means that nearly 75% of people feel that they live in an environment where discrimination and inequality exist.
“Whether this feeling corresponds to reality or not is another matter; but what is important is that three-quarters of people have such a feeling and believe that discrimination and inequality have cast a shadow over their lives. This feeling should be taken into account by the country’s policymakers and managers.”
While the size and scope of the survey is unclear, Bathaei admitted that around 60% of Iranians are not hopeful that the social conditions will improve in the future, hinting that the January protests may have largely contributed to this feeling.
“Of course, it should be noted that some social and political events can quickly affect these indicators. Sometimes the occurrence of a national event increases social cohesion, strengthens national solidarity, and diminishes some of the dissatisfaction and disagreements,” he admitted. “Therefore, when analyzing these numbers, the time conditions in which the surveys were conducted must also be taken into account.”
Data reflects economic condition, not social order, Iranian minister claims
While confidence in a more just and equitable future was low, and the fact that general satisfaction rates in the country averaged 38%, Bathaei claimed that 76% of Iranians felt a sense of pride in their identity.
Bathaei suggested the data reflected dissatisfaction with the economic conditions in Iran rather than the Islamist social order, asserting that 80% would be against disrupting said order and 60% expressly took issue with the country’s economic condition.
Already heavily constrained by sanctions, Iran’s economy has deteriorated rapidly as a result of both government policies and environmental pressures. After Iran blockaded the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz in March, prompting a US naval blockade, the country’s import and export capacity plummeted.
At the same time, the regime’s nearly three-month internet shutdown, followed by ongoing online restrictions, devastated many small businesses. Coupled with prolonged drought and a recent Moroccan locust infestation that has damaged the agricultural sector, these factors have left many Iranians facing severe economic hardship.
Tens of thousands killed in Iranian protests
Even before the latest war with Israel and the United States, the economic conditions in Iran led thousands of Iranians to take to the streets in January, where they were massacred by regime security forces.
Human rights organizations have estimated that tens of thousands were killed, in addition to those forcibly disappeared, though the regime has maintained “foreign-backed rioters” were behind the few thousand deaths it acknowledged.
The high cost of voicing opinions opposite to those adopted by the regime was unacknowledged by Bathaei, who told the media: “It is natural that in a society like Iran, there are differences in political, social, and economic views, and that people have different opinions on different issues.”
“The Interior Ministry’s duty is to provide the environment for the free and peaceful expression of these views,” he continued. “Just as those in favor of an issue have the right to express their opinions, opponents should also be able to express their views and arguments. All citizens have the right to express their opinions on important issues in their country.”
The January protests are not the first time the regime cracked down on signs of dissent, having murdered around 551 protesters during the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom demonstrations, according to figures published by a UN fact-finding mission, and killing around 200 during the Green Movement protests of 2009.
This comes in addition to the regime’s execution of political dissidents, which has trended upward since the start of 2026, according to Amnesty International.