The latest speeches by the Iranian regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi have given hope to the regime’s state media that new changes to Iran’s economy are on the horizon, with a supposed improvement in the stock market, and higher wages for Iranian workers.
All of these desired outcomes would resolve many of Iran’s current crises, but scepticism still remains as no practical solutions were outlined in any of Raisi’s speeches to overcome the crises. With the recent increase in taxes, it practically rules out any chance of an increase in production in the country, or an economic boom.
Iran Focus said, “The impoverished middle class is already struggling to survive, having lost much of their purchasing power, leaving them looking towards migrating abroad in their droves for a better life.”
With no attempts, or even the ability, to solve Iran’s current problems, the Iranian government are just adding to the mistakes they have already made, which in turn is causing the mass migration of Iranian’s highly-educated experts and professionals who are leaving Iran in their droves to find better prospects elsewhere.
When the budget for the next Persian year was put together, under the assumption that they would be able to collect wealth taxes, the government put propositions into the budget that completely sidestep the welfare needs of Iranian society, and have barely anything to do with economic principles.
The Fararu daily discussed details of the mass corruption in Iran at the hands of the regime, highlighting that it has had severe consequences for the Iranian people. The daily wrote, “…inequality, class divisions, public dissatisfaction, budget deficits, waste of financial resources, etc. have increased, and most importantly, productivity has disappeared.”
While the Iranian economy is already in an extremely dire state due to the regime’s corruption, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who heavily control the economy in the country, have further expanded their dominance over Iran’s wealth by interfering with the rice market. As a result, many Iranian citizens already living in extreme poverty are having their lives destroyed even further.
The regime’s Minister of Agriculture, Javad Sadatinejad, confirmed that seven trillion rials had been allocated by the government for rice farming in Iran, but that the control and power over this was assigned to the IRGC’s financial institution, the Khatam-al Anbiya Construction Headquarters. The reason behind this change of control was said to be beneficial for the country’s independence in regards to the rice import market.
He stated, “Our forecast is the cost of $3 billion or an amount of more than 900 million to one trillion rials from oil barter for this (subject) in five years.”
The state-run Jahan-e Sanat daily wrote in their February 1 publication that the rice production in Iran is nowhere near a self-sufficiency level, so the country relies on imports, equating to around 750,000 tons annually. Due to this fact, the decision to hand over the responsibility of attempting to increase domestic production to an institution that is unfamiliar in the agricultural field is extremely questionable.
Iran News Update said, “Handing over the country’s rice production to the IRGC comes in circumstances where most of the farmers in southern Iran, especially in the Khuzestan Province, have lost their rice production and fields due to the IRGC’s destructive diversion of rivers to its water-intensive industries.”
Many people in this region are suffering terribly from the lack of drinking water. The water shortages are putting already vulnerable people in a dangerous situation, so it is no wonder that many people in these areas have turned to organizing protests to fight for their rights and their survival.
While the IRGC has long since had great control over Iran’s economy and resources, since Raisi came to power they have been practically given a free pass to do as they wish, and loot the country’s wealth for their own gain, now more than ever.
