Outlook of Iran’s Economic Crises and Regime’s Role in Amplifying Them

 

Written by
Shamsi Saadati

As Hassan Rouhani’s government reaches its final days, despite the bogus claims by officials, Iran’s economic situation continues to deteriorate. The economic crises that have devastated people’s lives have caused state media to express fear of people’s reactions.

“Figures presented by the Statistics Center show that the average inflation rate in April broke its record of about 1.5 years ago and reached 41%. Annual inflation shows the general growth of prices continues per year,” wrote the state-run Jahan-e Sanat on Sunday.

Jahan-e Sanat daily underlines that the “41% inflation rate in April indicates few things. At least in the second half of last year, rising liquidity and the monetary base have been behind the rising inflation. As changes in monetary units gradually affect inflation, inflation is expected to continue to surpass 40% in the coming months.”

Jahan-e Sanat’s article then acknowledges that the rising inflation rate will result “in skyrocketing prices of consumer goods and decrease people’s purchasing power which will undermine the increase of the salary. This is a danger threatening people and the society.”

According to several regime’s state media, skyrocketing prices of food items are “worrying the middle and weak sectors of society.”

Iranian workers and retirees, which form a large part of Iran’s population, are among the weakest strata of society. Thus, they are barely able to make ends meet amid skyrocketing inflation and prices.

“The rampant rise in prices and the decline in the purchasing power of the people have made the life of the workers very difficult. Workers, while suffering from job insecurity, are in dire need of housing and clothing,” the state-run Resalat daily acknowledged on Sunday.

According to Faramarz Tofighi, ‌ Chairman of the Wage Committee of the Islamic Labor Council, “63% of the society are workers. The prices of various goods such as meat, rice, detergents, dairy products, etc. are increasing daily.” “Officials say the price increase is reasonable but do not say who is going to buy the goods. How can workers and retirees, who in the ideal conditions receive a salary of 3,600,000 Tomans per month, withstand these prices?” Tofighi added, according to Resalat, daily on Sunday.

Who is behind Iran’s rising prices and inflation rate?
The Iranian regime’s anti-patriotic policies, such as the export of terrorism, institutionalized corruption, and wrong economic policies for compensating its budget deficit, are the main reasons for the skyrocketing inflation and prices.

 

“Banks continue massive banknote printing. Thus, the country’s liquidity rises steadily every day. The main reason for the significant increase in liquidity in Iran, which is a high figure compared to other countries, is banknote printing,” Vatan-e Emrooz daily acknowledged on Sunday. According to Vatan-e Emrooz, “The most devastating damage of banknote printing is increasing inflation. It is banknote printing that has caused the growth of Iran’s liquidity always to be far ahead of economic growth, resulting in the super inflation rate.”

“Improper and ill-considered decision-making methods have faced the country with a lot of corruption and inefficiencies. It is safe to say those wrong policies that create inflation since they are anti-production and based on injustice are roots of all small and big problems of Iran’s economy,” Farshad Momeni, one of the regime’s economists, told the state-run Eghtesad-e Sarmad daily on May 14.

Iranian people are aware of the regime’s role in destroying Iran’s economy. The ongoing protests in Iran and rising calls for boycotting the regime’s sham presidential election. Boycotting the regime’s election shows people are confident the regime is unable to resolve their issues.

As economic crises deepen in Iran, state-run media warn of people’s reactions.

“The emergence and increase of political, social, and economic gaps have repeatedly shown us their devastating impacts in the last few years. They have shown they could be violent,” official Iran daily wrote, reminding officials of recent major Iran protests which rattled the regime’s foundation.

NOTE: The exchange rate of 1 US dollar on May 24, 2021, in a free market is 23,193 tomans.

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