The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) recently reported that the recent stories across Iranian state media have all acknowledged the country’s current social and economic crises, as well as the worsening Covid-19 crisis, and warn of possible uprisings by frustrated citizens.
The Arman daily have rejected the claims of rapid vaccinations by regime president Ebrahim Raisi, acknowledging that not nearly enough people have had their first vaccines. They said, “We cannot say that the entire population has received one dose of Covid-19 vaccines, and there is general immunity. We cannot claim that 50% of the population has been vaccinated.”
With most vaccination centers no longer having access to the Astra Zeneca vaccine and limited numbers of the domestically produced Barakat vaccine, those who have had these for their first vaccine are confused as to what their options are as they cannot use other vaccines for their second dose.
The NCRI said, “The regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, banned the entry of credible Covid-19 vaccines, and the regime officials implemented his decision through duplicity and inaction.”
Ebtekar daily warned that the Iran economy is ‘facing a difficult path’, as the crisis continues to cause further problems to the lives of Iranian citizens making their daily lives and livelihoods become harder to cope with.
The NCRI said, “As always, state-run media warn about people’s reaction to the ongoing crises and the possibility of another uprising.”
According to the Arman daily, the current situation in Iran requires the regime to make urgent decisions and offer short-term solutions. The first of which will be to reduce the prices of basic needs that have skyrocketed in recent months due to inflation. They said, “Contrary to the government’s promises to reduce prices in the past two months, the recent price increase has been unprecedented.”
The Setare Sobh daily suggested that Raisi is unaware of how difficult it is to free up the resources that have been blocked, or believes that somehow freeing up the foreign exchange resources is just as simple as importing vaccines. They said, “But there is another possibility that Raisi is repeating Hassan Rouhani’s strategy: speech therapy to control the price of the dollar!”
The NCRI said, “The state-run media also acknowledged the rising trend of the recent protests across Iran.”
Etemad daily reported on Tuesday that many of the problems in Iran need clear legislation in order for a suitable solution to be found. Social protests are on the rise recently and this is one of the important issues that needs addressing. Teachers and workers have been protesting in recent weeks in order to improve their living conditions as their salaries are nowhere near enough for them to live on. Many of these people are living below the poverty line.
Etemad daily further explained that numerous arrests during these protests were the regime’s attempts to prevent the spread of protests and bring an end to them. They said, “Yet due to the Iranians’ spirit, the arrest of a person hurts the conscience of his colleagues and encourages them to continue his path.”
