Despite the claims by the Iranian regime president Ebrahim Raisi and the officials of his government to reduce inflation and improve the economic situation, the people must endure the pain and hunger of empty baskets.
The state-run daily Jana Sanat wrote on February 10, 2022, about the regime’s hollow promises, “The state-run dailies and media are writing every day about inflation coming under control and promise even better days. What the citizens are experiencing, however, is the continuation of the high costs.
“Simply said, Raisi’s government and his like-minded in the parliament promised to do something so that the people could earn a living. Now the situation has changed such that most Iranians, if and when encountering Raisi, would probably say, Mr. Raisi we regret asking for gold, have mercy and give us copper!”
Sugar, already in short supply, is one of the commodities whose price has risen by 121 percent, according to the state-run media.
The state-run daily Bahar News wrote on February 16, 2022, “On April 4, 2021, each kilogram of sugar reached the consumer at the rate of 87,000 rials.” But now, “the new price of sugar in wholesale stores and fruit and vegetable markets is 140,715 rials per kilo.”
According to the regime’s economic experts, none of the commodities in Iran has become scarce, but because of the soaring prices in open markets, most of the poor people cannot afford them, while the rich minority, mostly supporters of the regime, is facing no such problems.
Regarding the increase in the price of fruit, the state-run website Entekhab wrote on, February 16, 2022, “Sweet lemon has reached 300,000 rials per kilo today. Quality oranges and apples are sold for 380,000 rials per kilogram in some shops. The average price of apples, oranges, and tangerines has been never less than 250,000 rials per kilo.
“With the new wave of price hikes, the price of turnips in fruit shops in Tehran has exceeded 250,000 rials per kilogram, each average squash is between 350,000 and 400,000 rials, and each kilogram of lemon is not less than 200,000 rials.”
The main factor causing price increases is the corruption of the regime’s officials which has ruined the country’s economy.
This corruption is mirrored by the mafia of the distribution of goods and pricing, which sets exorbitant prices for many commodities based on their interests.
Its effect is so devastating that the state-run news agency Tasnim, wrote on February 13, 2022, “In the survey conducted, 84,000 items in the country had a price hike of up to 120 percent.”
Then it quoted the comment of the regime’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade who ridiculously claimed that “by the end of the year, we will not have any increase in the price of goods, especially the basic goods of the people, and the government emphasizes this.”
If the economic situation could be resolved by merely issuing orders, the termite-like corruption would not obliterate the country’s economy, and the regime mafia would not be the absolute rulers of the country’s economy and people’s livelihood.
On February 1, 2022, the state-run daily Eghtesad News in an article entitled, “Destruction of the middle class in Iran!” highlighted the consequences of a faltering economy and wrote:
“One of the objective consequences of the spread of poverty in any society appears in the class system. The recent economic and livelihood problems of our country have caused a wide range of strata that were previously classified under the middle class of Iranian society to enter the circle of deprived classes of society.”
In explaining why, the regime has decided to expand the poverty in the country and hold the people below the poverty line it wrote, “When a country faces such a powerful middle class that can bring about two major political and social changes in less than a century, any change in the middle class will change the fate of Iranian society.
“That is why after the revolution, in order not to face new shocks, the Islamic Revolution tried to manipulate the middle class, to put pressure on it or to ignore it in the most optimistic case.
“This approach has been experienced in all post-revolution governments, and every government has repeated this process. Most post-revolution governments disregarded, oppressed, or expressed their enmity with the middle class. This process is also observed not only in the ideology and the words of governments but also in applying the executive policies.”
