In just 10 days, at least nine people, including four children, have died from suicide with poverty and financial issues being a factor in most of the deaths.

In three of the cases, those who died did so in a public place as a form of protest. This included two workers who had not received their wages for a long time and one war veteran who was not given a loan by a foundation affiliated with the Supreme Leader that is designed to help military personnel and vets.

The Jahan-e San’at daily said that suicides have increased by 23% in Iran, with most found in areas of the country that are suffering from particularly high inflation and unemployment.

However, one should be careful not to assume the state-run media is troubled by the mental health or financial problems of ordinary Iranians. Mostly, they are worried about the possibility that Iranians will rise up because of the problems that have been caused, or at the very least exacerbated, by the regime.

Jahan-e San’at  wrote:  “The lesser aspect of social protests are serial suicides while the larger aspect of social protests could soon show itself in protests such as were seen in 2018 and 2019 but on a wider scope and with more violence.”

While the Shargh state-run daily wrote: “Experts say that if poverty and unemployment are not addressed, it will probably lead to protests.”  

And it’s not just the media speculating about this. Iranian politician Abbas Abdi wrote that as there is “no capacity for expressing dissent” and the regime cracks down on any action deemed to be anti-regime, people will inevitably gather together against oppression. He does, however, claim that the government is right to be worried and to crush protests.

While former lawmaker Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghadam, who is a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, said that Iran is suffering a “trust crisis” because two-thirds of the country live in poverty.

Iran News  Wire wrote: “It is not clear when Iranians will once again rise in nationwide Iran protests, but rest assured that when they do, they will do their utmost to rid Iran of the clerical regime once and for all.”

 

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Iran: Social Consequences of Unbridled Poverty – Two Suicides in 24 Hours