Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, August 2, 2021—Iran’s economy is grappling with several crises due to structural corruption. According to economic experts, Iran is the only country in the world that has had double-digit inflation rates for more than four decades. Meanwhile, government experts are worried about the dangerous situation that is in the horizon for the regime, especially as we see protests escalating from Khuzestan province to other cities and towns across the country.
70 percent below poverty line
Economic experts acknowledge poverty and deprivation in areas such as Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces. The regime’s corrupt social and economic policies are such that even revenues of limited investments in these areas end up in the banks of other countries in the region that enjoy stability.
“In such circumstances, it is quite natural for many people in the country to fall below the poverty line, and it is here that we can say that this deprivation is not limited to provinces such as Khuzestan and Sistan and Baluchestan, although the situation there is much worse. According to Ministry of Labor estimates, 60 million of Iran’s 84 million population are eligible for the support basket; this means more than 70 percent of the society are living below the poverty line, and this is the result of the same policies that we have implemented so far,” according to a July 29 report wired by the ILNA news agency.
Inflation in war-torn Afghanistan is in single digits
“Countries like Algeria, Jordan, Mauritania, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia and all the Persian Gulf countries have below three percent inflation. Even Afghanistan experienced inflation below three percent last year. However, our officials don’t even dream about inflation being three percent inflation,” said one economist in Iran, according to a piece published on July 28 in the state-run Sabzineh daily.
The deteriorating economic situation and the Iranian people’s poverty are such that even the previous shocking statistics, indicating that the people’s purchasing power is diminishing and 60 percent of the population lives in poverty, seem outdated.
“According to the Statistics Center, poverty has been intensified, and 89 percent of the population is below the poverty line,” reads a July 27 piece published by the state-run Tejarat daily.
“If inflation continues to rise and officials make no effort to manage the turbulent market’s prices, and at least the basic goods of those vulnerable are not provided at a reasonable price, we should anticipate negative developments in all areas of health, social security and safety,” according to a July 27 report ran by Tejarat daily.
These days, government-linked analysts are constantly forecasting unfortunate events in the future!
Meysam Hashemkhani, an economist, cites statistics that have upset regime’s officials, but refrained from publishing due to fears of the population predicting the regime’s collapse.
“In the last 15 years, from 2006 to 2021, nearly 16 million people have been added to Iran’s working age population. However, according to the Statistics Center, the total number of jobs created during this period is only three million,” reads a July 29 report by the semi-official ILNA news agency.
Extensive privacy of economic sultans
Everybody knows that when the regime is facing serious socio-economic crises, its officials resort to its only weapon, being fuming terror and sending several “corrupt figures” to the gallows. The regime then launches a massive media choir to parrot news about the execution of people involved in huge economic corruption cases.
These individuals are usually were merchants with close ties to Iranian authorities. State media in Iran have dubbed such people as “Sultans,” describing the high amount of money they have stolen through bribes and their links in the regime’s hierarchy.
However, the current critical situation of this regime has made this tactic ineffective. One day it’s the “Sultan of gold coins”, the next day the “Sultan of housing”, the “Sultan of cars”, and more recently the “Sultan of cement”, etc. They come and go, but there is no end to the rule of the sultans raised by the regime.
“The presence of sultans in Iran is due to the economy being ill. The rise expansion in the number of ‘sultans’ in Iran is due to rent and irresponsible administrations. The managed distribution system in our country creates rent and breeds sultans,” according to a July 26 piece published by the state-run Ebtekar daily.
Raisi and incurable economic crises
The situation is so dire that the regime’s own economic analysts, concerned about popular protests, are urging Ebrahim Raisi, the regime’s incoming president, to take action
“At this extremely critical juncture in our country, if [former regime president Mohammad] Khatami faced a political crisis every few days, you will face an economic crisis every few days. In the current circumstances (and until further notice), economic recovery has priority over all other matters, and this will not be possible except by reforming policies and structures. Shock over the multi-dimensional reality rapidly manifests into the inability to make decisions. This is a disease that our governing system has been suffers from for decades. The fact is that the largest armies and world powers cannot overcome fluctuating prices,” according to a July 26 piece published by the state-run Eghtesad daily.
These warnings and concerns, of course, are no longer of any use to regime supreme leader Khamenei, Raisi and various regime factions due to the fact the Iranian people have had first-hand experience with this regime for over four decades now.
Popular protests across Iran, and the cry of “Down with Khamenei!” indicate that people are not afraid of bullets and imprisonment. This signals an extremely slippery road ahead for the mullahs ruling Iran.
