By Published On: May 31, 2019Categories: NEWS
Protests against the terrible economic situation broke out.

Protests broke out in Tehran, Qom, and Karaj. against the mounting economic crisis that has engulfed the Iranian economy.

State-run media outlets have warned the Iranian regime that the country is on the cusp of an explosion of unrest. Ebtekar Daily, a news outlet affiliated with supporters of the regime President, Hassan Rouhani, warned officials that the Iranian working classes are on the verge of rising up against the regime.

A Desertion From the Base

Traditionally, the lower economic classes have been a source of support for the Iranian regime. When the urban intellectuals deserted the mullahs, they knew they could rely on the support of the working class.

The news that the working classes are ready to throw off the shackles of the regime is a reflection of just how unpopular the regime has become among Iran’s civil society.

Ebtekar Daily reported that the mullahs economic mismanagement and plunder of the Iranian economy is a cause of widespread discontent among the population. In a piece entitled ‘The Epidemic of Poverty’, the outlet reported, “during past decades, the monster known as poverty lived only in the boundaries of major cities such as Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Shiraz. Yet nowadays, this monstrous infection has spread to every city and province across the country.”

Economic Turmoil

At the end of October 2018, the annual inflation rate hit 36.9%. By the end of 2019, it is expected to rise to 40%. This has put immense strain on the Iranian workforce whose purchasing power has plummeted.

Iranians are resorting to extreme measures to make ends meet. There have been reports of mothers and fathers selling kidneys to put enough food on the table for their children.

Alireza Fathi of the Tehran Islamic Council of Workers said in 2018, “workers have been abandoned until the point of an [economic] earthquake when they are forgotten forever”.

Residents have been forced to move to expand shanty towns, “lacking the very basic necessities such as sanitary infrastructures, education for children, hospitals, medical care centers, clinics,” Ebtekar Daily reported. Malnutrition and unemployment are rampant.

A Shared Injustice

The shared injustices and economic violation felt by many Iranians are acting as a catalyst for civil discontent. The situation has now become so dire, even the smallest event could trigger large-scale social unrest.

The Ebtekar Daily warned, “People who share the same misery in life will eventually join hands and will someday, not in the too distant future, will sweep the rug from under our feet.”

Iran’s history is interspersed with uprisings. When tensions boil over, no amount of violence or tyranny can stop the Iranian public from realizing its goal. The regime is on borrowed time. The tide is turning and the people are ready to wash them out of power.

Staff writer

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