As the current economic crises in Iran continue to worsen, the Iranian regime’s new president Ebrahim Raisi made a statement on Wednesday, September 29, saying that ‘the country’s inflation rate should be controlled and reduced’, however, he has yet to put into place any actions to resolve the crises.
The Arman daily stated in their publication on September 28 that since Raisi and his administration came into power, they have made no serious changes to tackle to inflation rates. The prices of even basic needs are still skyrocketing. They attribute the lack of progression to Raisi’s economic team, who all have varying views on how the economy should be run, leading to a deadlock in decisions.
President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Maryam Rajavi, previously referred to the new presidential administration as the “embodiment of four decades of the religious and terrorist dictatorship of the mullahs, whose mission is to counter popular uprisings, plunder national wealth and resources, step up terrorism and warmongering, and expand the unpatriotic nuclear and missiles projects.”
The NCRI said, “Raisi’s Urban and Development Minister, Rostam Ghasemi, was prosecuted for corruption in Iran before the judiciary dropped all charges against him. Other officials of Raisi’s government, such his vice-president Mohammad Mokhber, have held top positions in the regime’s plundering institutions under the Supreme Leader’s provision, such as the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO).”
The Hamdeli daily published figures of how much basic diet staples have in risen in price during the past year. The price of rice, meat and poultry has seen a 40 to 50 percent increase. In August of last year, the price of fresh poultry was around 17,700 tomans, while a year later, this figure has increased to 27,000 thousand tomans.
The Arman daily wrote on Tuesday that, “The shrinking of the people’s table has created sensitivities. Although the reasons for this situation are clear to economists, ordinary people ask themselves that the inflation rate in Iran is even higher than in neighboring countries, which have much worse conditions than Iran.”
The NCRI said, “The real reason for Iran’s rising inflation rate is the ongoing liquidity growth, which is far above the production rate.”
In order to compensate for the country’s budget deficit, the regime started printing banknotes which has led to a sharp increase in Iran’s GDP and liquidity, and in turn, has led to the skyrocketing inflation rates.
The Jahan-e Sanat daily explained that, “inflation is not a cause itself. It is the result of a series of economic behaviors such as the growth of the monetary base and liquidity. When money is printed and circulates in the economy instead of leading to production growth, it results in inflation growth.”
Considering the depth of the current crises Iranians are dealing with, the Arman Daily warned Raisi and his administration that they will not be able to boost people’s trust without finding solutions to fix the problems. Speeches and hollow promises will only worsen the public’s distrust ‘and the distance between the people and the officials will increase’.
Former MP for the regime, Soheila Jolodarzadeh said, “If [the regime does not] act or think about the situation, we will face popular protests; Given the economic conditions of the majority of people, it is safe to say that the entire society lives below the poverty line.”
