Iranian officials alternate from saying that their economy is doing fantastically despite international sanction and saying that it’s failing because of US sanctions. Trouble is, neither of these statements is true and a quick look at the data proves that the economic crisis is down to the mullahs’ misguided policies and institutionalized corruption.
The state-run Jahan-e Sanat daily warned last week that “economic freefall is on the horizon”. In fact, they likened the situation to that of having a “painful and fatal heart attack and [slipping] into a long coma” if nothing is done to cure the problems.
They quoted economist Mohsen Rannani as saying: “Economic and social crisis has driven the country to a dangerous point. If [authorities] do not act quickly to control and manage these crises. In that case, the country will enter an irreversible path.”
Meanwhile, former Minister of Urban Development Abbas Akhundi said that the country’s inflation rate since 1969 is a horrific and disturbing “546845%”. He further explained that national investment growth over the past nine years has been “negative 6.8%”, which means that investment has gone down to 52% compared with 2011 and that the inflation rate increase next year will mean “absolute poverty”.
The Iranian Resistance wrote: “In other words, Iran’s economy under the mullahs’ regime has no solution. People pay the price of the regime’s economic mismanagement and corruption. For example, while Iran is going through the fourth wave of the coronavirus outbreak, thousands of Iranians stand in long lines to purchase poultry at the government-set price.”
Yes, the Iranian people are finding it hard to buy even basic food items, like chicken, eggs, fruits, and vegetables, because of inflation and price rises above inflation. Their purchasing power has dropped considerably and this is concerning for industries across the board.
Despite this, the government claims to have controlled the crisis, but how can they when the situation is so dire on the streets? And how can they blame sanctions when the rulling system has been wasting money on terrorism and printing bills to meet the budget deficit?
The Siyasat-e Rouz daily wrote Wednesday: “Tying all problems to sanctions is going on for years. Sanctions are not the reason for all of Iran’s economic crises. According to economic and political experts, 30% of problems are due to sanctions, but 70% of problems are due to mismanagement, [wrong] decisions, and governments’ planning. Should we blame sanctions for skyrocketing prices and the scarcity of poultry? [the regime’s] recklessness and disabilities are not involved in this [crisis]?”
