The crushing crisis of livelihood and the unbridled inflation in Iran have pushed people’s lives into severe hardship. This pressure has become so intense that regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei was forced to make a confession on March 20, 2025, the first day of the new Persian calendar year. He admitted that “economic problems have engulfed the people,” and the annual tradition of naming the new year with grand slogans turned into a farce. Khamenei said, “The slogan we gave last year… was not fulfilled.”
These confessions are obvious to the people who feel the burden of rising prices in their daily lives. Even the regime’s official media and news agencies are forced daily to reflect glimpses of this inflationary monster with headlines like: “The Market Under the Boot of Inflation,” “Soaring Prices and Empty-Handed People,” “People Struggling with Price Hikes Before the New Year,” “Inflation Rampant,” and “Market Stagnation Amid Crowds Without Buyers.” They warn about a new wave of inflation in the coming year, with headlines like “Tighten Your Belts!” (Khabar Online).
But Khamenei’s confessions weren’t without a motive. The supreme leader, using a deceptive maneuver similar to his so-called “heroic flexibility” strategy, appeared in public only to shamelessly declare: “The leadership does not interfere in economic planning… this is the government’s responsibility!” His sycophantic government had already paved the way with a similar excuse. On March 13, 2025, regime president Massoud Pezeshkian said: “I don’t know whose collar I should grab for all this inflation!”
But Khamenei’s goal wasn’t just to avoid responsibility; he knows full well that no one believes this claim. He was laying the groundwork for further looting of the already-empty pockets of impoverished Iranians. Under the slogan of the year, “Investment for Production,” he said: “Production requires investment; when we say investment, some people think of foreign investors — no, it’s about investment by our own people!” He then revealed his true intent: “The liquidity that people have… if it is used for investment in production, the country will progress!” In other words, after the regime has already emptied people’s pockets through currency manipulation, inflation, the stock market, car and housing bubbles, and countless other schemes, now they must hand over their remaining savings to the corrupt state.
Greedy to further plunder people’s wealth, Khamenei wasted no time in mobilizing his Friday prayer leaders—who act as his representatives across provinces and cities—to continue this same narrative and declare: “People should use the money and gold they have at home to help the country [read: Khamenei’s mafia] solve the problem of inflation!”