Iran’s economy is plagued by super-challenges. According to Iran’s state-run media, policies put in place to solve the financial crisis will be critical:

“The economic situation has never been as complicated as it has been in the last decade since the [1979] revolution,” the state-run Donya-e Eghtesad wrote on September 5.

Rise in price

People’s essentials are continuing to rise in price. On September 5, the state-run Setare Sobh daily reported, “Each kilo of Iranian rice was sold for 46,500 tomans last month.”

“In addition to all of the negative trends in the country’s macro-accounts, Iran’s infrastructure capacity and inventory of goods have both decreased in recent years. As a result, the country’s economy’s stability and resilience in providing livelihood and supporting society’s basic necessities have dropped significantly,” Donya-e Eghtesad wrote on the same day.

 

 

The current recession

Iranians are the ones who are most affected by the current recession. People’s livelihood troubles have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 outbreak and the regime’s cruel policies.

“It was clear early on that the pandemic’s impact on workers’ lives would be greater. At the same time, several firms did not renew workers’ contracts or denied them the opportunity to work the following year in February 2020.”  On September 7, the state-run Sharq daily reported that “more than 1.2 million workers have lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2021.”

 

 

The health crisis deepens

According to the Iranian opposition group The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), 418,000 people had died in Iran as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak as of September 11.

As the health crisis deepens, more Iranians are affected economically. The Arman daily reported on September 4 that “the staggering costs of treating the disease, as well as the astronomical rise in hospital bed prices and medicine, have impoverished at least more than 3 million people in the past 19 months.”

 

An inflationary tsunami

“An inflationary tsunami has pushed back the country’s Covid-19 control programs even further. Drugs and oxygen are in short supply during the crisis, and many people die at home as a result of their inability to pay for treatment and medicine.

Hospitalization costs in private and non-government hospitals have also risen dramatically,” the state-run Arman daily adds.

 

 

Iran’s economic problems

Last week, the Iranian regime’s new government started functioning. Are Ebrahim Raisi and his administration capable of resolving Iran’s economic problems?

“The people have concluded, based on Hassan Rouhani’s government’s experience, that it is not a matter of changing individuals, but of changing the approach in the political structure. Regrettably, the new government lacks the required social capital to succeed. Despite the deterioration in Iranians’ well-being, there is no clear horizon for household living conditions,” Jahan-e Sanat wrote on September 4 in this regard.

 

 

Getting out of misery

“Getting out of this misery and creating public welfare is only possible through controlling inflation. But we must know that inflation is not the cause itself.

Still, the cause of factors such as unemployment, lack of production, negative economic growth and high levels of spending as well as low levels of income,” explains Jahan-e Sanat.

 

The regime’s systemic corruption

To make up for its budget shortfall, the regime began producing a lot of banknotes. As a result, Iran’s liquidity increased dramatically, and because it did not keep pace with national production growth, inflation and skyrocketing prices resulted.

Consequently, the regime’s systemic corruption has exacerbated the economic crisis. As a result, regular protests by individuals from all walks of life have increased society’s restiveness.

 

 

MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook)

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