Before Ebrahim Raisi took office as president he made many promises and ‘predicted’ progress in dealing with Iran’s miserable economic situation, ensuring the Iranian people that their living conditions will improve. He was also trying to assure the regime’s supporters that his presence will save the regime from a collapse.
Despite his efforts, many people refused to believe the hollow promises and the country witnessed the most widely boycotted election in its history.
Addressing one of Raisi’s lies, the state-run Donya-e Eghtesad daily wrote, “The claim of creating one million jobs by the head of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic and the candidate for the 2021 presidential election provoked many reactions. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi considered single-digit inflation possible and claimed that ‘70% of the country’s economic capacity is inactive. By activating these capacities, we can create one million jobs a year’.”
The question remains as to how the regime would rewrite and improve the economy, which is a victim of the regime’s massive corruption, plunder, and theft?
Following the implementation of the government’s new plan to remove the preferred currency from basic items, one of the regime’s so-called reformists admitted, “The economic situation is not good. Even today we must admit that we are in a state of war, and we have no choice but to ration the goods. If this does not happen, then there would be famine, followed by public discontent and even riots, in which case, the system will also be threatened.”
These warnings are no longer just about what might potentially occur. Every day, the Iranian people are taking to the streets to protest the regime, with most of their slogans aimed at the regime’s leaders.
This situation has become so intense that it has created a society where the people are increasingly getting ready for a new revolution. This is not just a political analysis; the economic statistics of the regime also confirm this fact. During his election campaign, Raisi had promised that he would decrease the exchange rate for each dollar to 15,000 rials. In one quick move, he would lower the inflation by 50 percent, lowering the figures to a single digit.
He claimed that no one in his government would speak about money printing and that the people’s food baskets would not be tight with the sanctions. He also claimed that creating one million jobs annually would be as easy as a pie, as would creating four million housing units. Marriage loans and large amounts of money to set up bankrupt factories would also be easily provided.
However, less than a year after he took the office, none of those promises were delivered. The protests all over the country represent a damning rebuke. Although it has been repeated many times, it should be noted that the average income of the Iranian people is not only much lower than the minimum wages of countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, but it is also less than the minimum wages of small countries such as Azerbaijan and Oman.
The state-run daily Shargh wrote, “Reports from the Ministry of Labor show that about 60% of Iranians do not have sufficient income and suitable jobs. About 14,200 million Iranians have low-income jobs and are without insurance.”
It further explained, “About one-fifth of Iranians are taxi drivers! (3.4 million SNAP drivers and 1.4 million Tepsi drivers, about 300,000 taxi drivers and private taxi drivers). About 35 to 40 percent of Iranians are tenants and about 20 million are slum dwellers and homeless. About 25 percent, or one-fourth, of the population, are slum dwellers and homeless.”
While the regime claimed and advertised that with the help of subsidies the lives of the Iranian people would improve, the reality of the situation shows that they are continuing to loot the people of their much-needed incomes.
The state-run daily Arman wrote, “The volume of cash subsidies until the electronic card is provided, has caused problems for the government with some banks accusing the government of withdrawing funds from banks to provide cash subsidies. In this regard, Vahid Shaghaghi Shahri, an economist, said that ‘Governments have been taking money from the banks for many years.’”
