On December 19, the Iranian regime made an announcement acknowledging that the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus had entered Iran, which will most certainly increase the country’s already rising death toll. According to the Iranian opposition, this figure is fast approaching half a million people, with over 490,100 deaths recorded so far.
In the past few days, Iran’s state media have been discussing the depth of the problems faced by Iranian society, as well as the regime’s fear of the people retaliating to the worsening issues.
The Eghtesad-e Pouya media outlet acknowledged that the rising inflation in Iran is causing the prices of healthcare services and products to skyrocket, adding to the increase of the poverty line in the country.
They wrote, “The people’s declining purchasing power has now led to malnutrition, and thus, various physical, mental, and psychological diseases related to the lack of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals are dominating society. We could see this in the rising death toll and poverty.”
The Iranian people are suffering and struggling to make ends meet to provide for their families, and all the while regime officials continue to receive enormous salaries.
A report from the state-run Jomhuri-e Eslami on December 19, stated that the monthly salaries of regime officials are between 184 million tomans and 284 million tomans, while employees of the lower levels of the regime barely make 3 million tomans during the same time frame.
The state-run Arman Daily highlighted in their December 11 publication the dire state of the lives of Iranians under increasing levels of poverty.
They said, “Reports and statistics indicate people’s harsh living conditions. But the situation is even worse for poor Iranian families. Poverty now hurts people to the bone, and this is a serious issue. If the government does not take necessary measurements, people will be crushed under the high living costs.”
The Iranian regime has been adamant in promoting the false notion that the sanctions that have been placed upon them are the reason behind the worsening poverty levels and has suggested that the fate of Iran’s economy depends on the ongoing nuclear deal talks.
This issue was debunked by the Jahan-e Sanat daily over a week ago. They stated that most Iranians believe that the nuclear talks in Vienna are having no impact on the socio-economic problems in Iran and will not provide any solutions to resolve them. Only the Iranian regime is to blame for the problems because of their corrupt policies.
The major protests in Iran back in 2018, and the following year, have proved that the Iranian economic crisis does not stem from the regime’s sanctions, as they erupted three years after the nuclear agreement was made. The regime’s malign and corrupt activities set in motion the economic issues, which have now spiraled out of control.
The Jahan-e Sanat daily stated that “inflation and skyrocketing prices have crushed people, and they are unable to tolerate more pressure,” and posed the question, “So, why would a family that can hardly win its bread care about the Vienna talks?”
The Iranian people consider the regime as the real source of their problems. They witness how regime officials and their relatives receive astronomical salaries and live luxurious lives while people are living in absolute poverty. As a result, protests across Iran have increased, promising another nationwide uprising.
