Iranian security forces arrested six people in Tehran on Tuesday during an unauthorised demonstration by workers to mark May Day, the ILNA news agency reported. It said a "large number of workers" including teachers had gathered in central Tehran to protest against a ban by authorities preventing them from rallying to mark the international labour day which is not an official holiday in Iran.
The demonstrators also wanted to press their demands, it said without elaborating. ILNA quoted a security source as saying the people arrested were "only those who wanted to cause trouble".
A union official, quoted by the news agency, said "the workers are not counter-revolutionaries or opposition members" but people who are merely seeking "a dignified life, a guaranteed job and minimum well-being". At least 25 people were killed at the beginning of the year as popular protests triggered by economic discontent sprung up in dozens of Iranian cities.