Following the founding of the mullahs’ regime in Iran and its interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, particularly in Muslim nations, the Iranian Resistance chose to reveal these malicious intentions despite facing various forms of slander.
Since then, the regime’s media has been forced to acknowledge that their promotion of global terrorism and the so-called “export of revolution” has placed a significant economic burden on the people, particularly during popular uprisings.
On January 19, the Kayhan daily, which serves as the mouthpiece of regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei, sought to justify the regime’s actions in the Middle East while downplaying the adverse economic effects of this strategy.
The article asserts that Iran’s presence and activity in various regions, including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestine, is both strategic and necessary. It also refutes claims of Iran’s economic struggles and emphasizes that the country’s economic situation is, in fact, positive.
The article then argues that the financial and economic costs of Iran’s involvement in the region have been exaggerated, with the total amount spent in the last two decades being no more than $18 billion.
Finally, it contends that investing in so-called allied resistance groups is a preventative measure that promotes security and balance of power.
The article concludes by posing a rhetorical question: “Is it worth investing in resistance groups when the money could be spent on construction and services? The answer is yes, as supporting these groups helps maintain a favorable balance of power and security in the region.”
This statement clearly confirms what the Iranian Resistance has been saying for decades, that the regime squanders the country’s wealth for its terrorist ambitions. It is also confirmed by many other statements made by the leaders and representatives of this regime admitting to their involvement in exporting fundamentalism and terrorism. This includes a statement by Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a member of the regime’s 10th parliament, who disclosed a $30 billion aid to Syria in May 2019. In response, the deputy commander of the IRGC said that this aid is below $20 billion and was less than the cost of the war with Iraq.
It is also corroborated by a report released by Iran’s special action group in the US State Department, which highlights the $16 billion spent by the mullahs’ regime in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen until 2012, and reliable estimates provided by international media and reputable research centers.
And the latest news according to a statement by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on March 14, 2023, the Iranian regime is allegedly exploiting the poverty of the Syrian population by offering young men $200 per month to join its militias.
Indeed, this is one of the reasons for the increasing poverty of Iran’s people. A recent study conducted by the Iran Statistics Center examined the country’s misery index, which is calculated by adding the unemployment and inflation rates. The findings revealed that the misery index has surged significantly from 19.3% in 2017 to 49.4% in 2022, indicating a staggering 155% increase.
This is while the regime in a fake report announced the actual unemployment rate to be as low as 8%. On January 21, the same center reported an alarming spot inflation rate of 53.4%, which is the highest in the past 25 years. However, the regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi has used data from the Central Bank to argue that inflation has decreased from 60% to 40%, and he credits his administration for this significant reduction.
Amidst a dire economic crisis, an ongoing battle between workers and the regime persists regarding the determination of the minimum standard of living and wage. Workers are demanding an increase in both. The most recent development from the regime’s Supreme Labor Council meeting suggests that the average cost of the workers’ subsistence basket has been set at 13.9 million tomans based on last year’s procedure.
However, there remains a lack of agreement on the minimum wage. A labor expert suggests that labor representatives are struggling to approve a salary of 10 million tomans, given the inflation rate of over 50% and the poverty line index of approximately 15 million tomans announced by the regime’s Ministry of Labor two months ago. Even with a salary of 10 million tomans, workers will still have a deficit of 5 million tomans, while experts have determined the subsistence level to be 18 million tomans.
The situation is even more tragic as the share of wages in the final price of goods in Iran averages between 7% and 13%, and in large corporations in the oil, refining, and petrochemical industries, this share averages between 2% and 4%.
