Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, September 23, 2021—These days, there are many articles in Iran’s state-run press that question the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for banning the validity of approved American and British vaccines.
“Delay in vaccination has made us a bad example for the world. The most important element in this regard is the politicization of this issue… One of the most important reasons why our country has been unsuccessful in managing the coronavirus, alongside delays in vaccination, is the fact that science and expertise matters have been politicized and turned into ideological issues, especially when it comes to medicine. We never see good results when science is politicized,” said Mostafa Moein, head of the regime’s own Medical Apparatus Higher Council on September 18, according to state TV.
“The delay in importing the vaccine led to the death of many of our compatriots … Excuses that there were political issues regarding the import of vaccines are not acceptable.! If there was a problem with buying a foreign vaccine in the past, why is there no problem now?” read an August 23 piece by the state-run Hamdeli daily.
A Reuters report wired on September 16 reads: “Iran’s new government has approved use of U.S. firm Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, a senior official said on Thursday, as the Islamic Republic fights a fifth wave of infections.
“The announcement came eight months after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned imports of vaccines made by the United States and Britain – though Iran has since accepted vaccines developed by Western firms but manufactured elsewhere.
“President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration is under public pressure to broaden its sources of vaccines as infections mount in its deadliest wave yet.”
Criminal policy of reopening schools and parents’ concerns
While Iran is facing coronavirus outbreaks from the Lambda and Delta, Khamenei and Raisi plan to reopen schools even in provinces registered as red coronavirus zones.
“Necessary preparations have been made to reopen schools and scientific-educational centers, and restrictions have been decreased in economic centers,” said Raisi on September 19 at a meeting with the chairmen of the country’s various Covid-19 Task Forces, according to state TV.
“Parents’ concern regarding sending their children to school in the current circumstances is an issue that has been troubling their minds these days. The Education Ministry insists that schools should reopen this year so that education can be provided in combined fashion. However, no final decision has yet been made by the National Covid-19 Task Force and the Education Ministry on how to reopen schools,” according to a September 2 piece published by the state-run Vatan-e Emrooz daily.
Opposition to reopening schools
Dr. Hamid Souri, epidemiologist, said in response to a question of whether schools should reopen in the next three weeks or not: “We are still engaged with the fifth peak, and no country will open schools or decrease coronavirus restrictions in such circumstances. These measures are fueling the country’s epidemic in a very critical situation. Preparations necessary prior to reopening schools have not been carried out,” according to an August 29 report wired by the regime’s official IRNA news agency.
“We are far from returning to [pre-coronavirus] conditions prior in January 2021, and we should not be caught off-guard regarding the sixth wave, which may begin in November,” according to a September 17 report posted on the state-run Salamat News website.
“The Education Ministry should not reopen schools until children have been vaccinated,” said Kazem Delkhosh-Abatari, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament), according to the state-run ICANA news agency on September 14.
Reopening schools coincides with delta variant expanding across the country and has resulted in increasing concerns. Mohammad Reza Mahboobfar, a university professor, told the state-run newspaper Hamdali on August 29: “The age of infection by the virus has decreased and the covid catastrophe has reached children, adolescents and young people. 4,000 children and infants being hospitalized in Kermanshah province alone for suspected covid symptoms through the course of just one month, or 52 children dying from coronavirus in a mere 18 months, and 1,800 children contracting covid in Isfahan province since the beginning of this year. These issues have seriously questioned the credibility of the Isfahan Covid-19 Task Force spokesman’s remarks on reopening schools,”
Dr. Kourosh Holakouee, Professor of Epidemiology at the Tehran Medical Sciences University, acknowledged Khamenei’s policy of using Covid-19 to kill thousands of Iranians. “Nowhere in the world has the virus spread so fast. In fact, we have left the virus unbridled and some people are benefitting from the outcomes. It does not matter to them that people are dying by the thousands. However, with the current estimates available, the death toll should be more than two and a half to three times higher [than the regime’s official stats]. However, I believe you can increase the death toll by 700 percent. Covid has now become a tool to carry out any measures, and it seems that this disease serves the interests of many people,” he said on August 25, according to the state-run Entekhab website.
Cost of sending a student to school in 2021
Education should be provided cost-free at all levels, according to Article 30 of the regime’s own constitution. However, by increasing the prices of textbooks and students’ tuition, the regime and state-linked entities/individuals have made it impossible for students to enroll.
“More than one million students have not yet registered for textbooks because they cannot afford it. … In general, the price of textbooks has increased by 25 percent compared to last year,” said Ahmad Reza Amini, Director General in charge of Supervision of Publication and Distribution of Textbooks, on September 18, according to the state-run Shargh daily.
The state-run Jahan-e-Sanat newspaper wrote in an article titled “A catastrophe in the making” on September 18: “The price of first graders’ textbooks is 290,500 rials (around $1), and one million rials (about $3.50) for fifth grade students. With such prices, an average family needs up to 30 million rials (about $110) to send all their kids school. Due to the economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak, inevitable unemployment, and the high cost of public necessities due to inflation and national currency depreciation, millions of people in the lower class have are now unemployed and living in poverty.”
It is worth noting that in Iran a worker’s minimum salary is less than $100 per month.
Coronavirus, poverty, and school dropouts
“The issue of students dropping out of school should be taken seriously. Due to the economic situation, families face high costs, and some force their children to work and help make ends meet,” said Hassan Mousavi Chelek, head of the Social Workers Association in an interview with the state-run Arman daily published on September 18.
It is worth noting that on Sunday, October 11, 2020, Mohammad Mousavizadeh, an 11-year-old student in the city of Dayyer, southern Iran, committed suicide and died due to not having a smartphone and not being able to attend online classes.
Why are Khamenei and Raisi insisting on reopening schools?
The fundamental question is why are Khamenei and Raisi insisting on reopening schools as signs of the sixth corona wave are emerging, and despite Iran’s medical community opposing such a move, and the slow trend of vaccinations across the country, including the education sector?
In addition to its economic interests, the regime will face serious political and security concerns if schools are not reopened.
“Iran’s students and youth, with support from [Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK] Resistance Unitsv, break the atmosphere of surrender, silence and the atmosphere of fear and terror. Conscious youth, hand in hand, are spreading protest movements and strikes,” said Iranian opposition coalition NCRI President Maryam Rajavi, according to a September 16 post on Almashhadalaraby website.
