Recently, an Iranian regime economist had admitted that he couldn’t understand the nature of the economic system in Iran. On August 8, the state-run Donya-ye Eghtesad newspaper quoted him as saying, “As an economist, I have tried for years to understand the nature of Iran’s economic system. It is a tangled mess of capitalism, state-controlled and centralized economy, welfare state, and resistance economy. A name for such a system has not yet been coined in the field of economics.”
Of course, he is not alone; other experts have reached the same conclusion, though each views this monster, crafted by the mullahs’ regime, from different angles and perspectives.
The Crisis of Proper Understanding
Another economist mentioned that for four decades, we have been waiting for “reforms” in Iran’s economy, but there has been no sign of it because the freeloaders, rent seekers, and plunderers, which he refers to as “beneficiaries,” who support regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, do not allow even the slightest change. How will the regime’s new president make a difference: “For nearly four decades, we have heard and read that reforms are needed in Iran’s economy. But why hasn’t it happened? Many analysts are incapable of understanding the economic developments and their impact. They do not comprehend the economy of the beneficiaries and their financial and economic exchanges in Iran! How do they plan to encourage the beneficiaries to create a reformative atmosphere? How can they align the economic beneficiaries, who are driving Iran’s economy towards cartelization, with the country’s development?!” (Source: the state-run Etemad newspaper, August 18).
Examples of the despair of social science experts and the tsunami of devastating harms in this field are numerous. However, within this domain, several economic crises and super-crises have been identified over the years, such as budget deficits, the critical state of banks, unemployment, pension fund challenges, and the environmental crisis, specifically the water issue, which is agreed upon by the economic scientific community. Recently, the discussion of “imbalances” has also been added to these super-crises, and continuous warnings are being issued about the lack of electricity in summer, gas shortages in winter, and other energy carriers.
The Bitter Fruits of Imbalance
Masoud Nili, a senior regime economist, likens the emergence and persistence of imbalances in Iran’s economy to the bitter fruits of a tree planted by Supreme Leader in the land of Iran.
On August 24, the state-run Donya-ye Eghtesad newspaper quoted him as saying, “Our decision-making system is fundamentally imbalance-oriented!” These imbalances have engulfed all the economic indicators of Iran. And “without foreign relations reform, economic reforms are merely a highly costly and socially and politically exhausting process.”
In explaining the current critical situation, he also listed the crises arising from poverty and the “deep social and cultural gaps between and within generations” as among the formidable challenges of this period in addition to the multiple imbalances. Conditions that threaten the “territorial integrity of the country” and the “stability of society.”
An important point in describing the chaotic state of Iran’s economy is the “dynamic” role of imbalances; simply put, the energy imbalance aligns with the currency imbalance, which is connected to inflation, and inflation is linked with stagnation, monopolies in imports are tied to exports, and these connect with the water and electricity imbalances, and all of these are synchronized with the budget deficit crisis, uncertain oil revenues, and bank debts. Therefore, “the equation of the future has turned into a paradox.”
An Unprecedented Event in 100 Years of the Nursing Community
The reflection of the super-crises and imbalances in the economy of religious fascism is clearly visible in the streets, in front of regime centers, and in every sector and institution across the cities of the country. The firm, collective, and targeted protests of the nursing community have delivered a shocking jolt to the regime, which remains terrified of it.
On August 20, Econegar news website quoted the Secretary-General of the Nursing House, as saying, “Previously, protests in Mashhad, Karaj, and Shiraz were in the form of gatherings, but now the nature of the protests is unprecedented. For the first time in the 100-year history of modern nursing in the country, the protests have taken the form of ‘work stoppages.’ When nurses stop working, we become very worried.”
Retirees Determined Against the Looters of Their Savings
On the other side of the streets, we see retired people continuously raising their voices in protest, never relenting in their fight for their rights. Retirees from the Telecommunications Company in 11 provinces of Iran, with the slogan “Boastful government, where are the results of your promises?” not only emphasize their professional demands but also react against the mismanagement and corruption prevailing in the country’s economy. These protests continue weekly in various provinces.
Retirees protest the corruption prevailing in the “Cooperative Foundation” and the so-called “Execution of Khomeini’s Order,” where illegal withdrawals from the pension fund have become a routine practice.
People’s Slogans; Readiness for the Final Uprisings
Examples of the slogans of protesters from various social groups in the streets indicate their readiness for transformative actions to overthrow the looters, freeloading beneficiaries, gangs, and mafias supporting Khamenei and his puppet government:
“We’ll come on Mondays until we get our rights.”
“The major shareholder has taken our rights.”
“The company is torn into pieces; it’s all about the looting.”
“We’ve seen no justice, only lies.”
The era of religious fascism has come to an end, and a transformative age is dawning on the horizon of Iran. The beginning of the end of oppression and tyranny has arrived.