Ako Lotfi, a tradesman (“Shouti”) from the city of Divandarreh, was severely injured by direct gunfire from military forces on the Saveh-Tehran highway.
According to Kolbarnews, on the evening of Saturday, April 26, 2025, a tradesman (“Shouti”) from Divandarreh County was seriously wounded by direct shooting from military forces on the Saveh-Tehran highway.
The injured individual has been identified by Kolbarnews as Ako Lotfi, a resident of Divandarreh. According to the report, this citizen was struck by two bullets, suffering serious injuries to his neck and abdomen.
He was transported to a hospital in the city of Saveh for treatment and, due to the severity of his injuries, was admitted to the intensive care unit. His overall condition has been reported as unstable.
Ako Lotfi is married and has two children, aged 13 and 9.
“Shoutis” are private vehicles used to transport goods imported through unofficial channels into the heart of Iranian cities. Many “Shouti drivers” are unemployed young people who, due to poverty, unemployment, and systematic discrimination by the government, risk their lives to make a living. One of the main reasons for the widespread phenomenon of “Shouti driving” in southern, southwestern, eastern, and western regions of Iran is the high levels of poverty and unemployment. Systematic governmental discrimination, lack of facilities and job opportunities, the destruction of agricultural prospects due to drought and mismanagement of water resources, as well as economic and livelihood crises, have forced many to turn to this line of work out of sheer necessity.
A significant number of men and women in the southwestern, western, and eastern provinces such as Bushehr (especially the port of Genaveh), Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad (especially Gachsaran), Lorestan, Fars, Kerman, Baluchistan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, and West Azerbaijan have taken up “Shouti” driving due to poverty and unemployment.
