On the eve of the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, the regime’s media report on the relentless increase in the prices of goods, stating that the inflation has led people to prioritize purchasing essential items and food instead of buying new clothes. This has created a discouraging environment for sellers.
The state-run Etemad newspaper reports that “Ramadan has arrived with the prices of consumables for Iftar and Sahur being several times higher than the previous Ramadan.”
Meanwhile, on the eve of the Iranian New Year (March 21), on Wednesday, March 13, Rasoul Shajari, the head of the Tehran Shoemakers Union, announced a 25% decrease in demand and a 30% increase in prices in the shoe market during the New Year’s Eve in Tehran.
The regime’s Ettelaat newspaper also reported on this day from the city of Qazvin that “in previous years, the market for selling pastries would heat up from mid-March, but this year, due to high inflation rates, the demand for pastries is much lower, to the extent that orders for pastries have decreased from 40 kilograms to 5 to 10 kilograms per day.”
According to domestic media, this year, preparing items for the Haft-Seen table (the tradition of putting 7 symbolic objects together whose names start with S) “requires more than 5 million rials (approximately $9),” and with the addition of a dish of herbed rice with fish to the cost of the new year’s table, families will have to spend “16 million rials (approximately $30).”
The minimum wage for workers is about $135.
These reports come as one day earlier, the Tehran City Council announced that in the new year, the entry fare for the Tehran Metro will increase by 16%, the express bus by 21%, and the regular bus by 30% compared to 2023.
Mehr News Agency also reports from Semnan province that statistics released by the monitoring and inspection unit of this province indicate an increase in the prices of some essential items for the people. For example, the price of dates has changed from 1.1 million rials (approximately $2) per kilogram on February 21 to 1.35 million rials (approximately $2.3) on March 5, and white beans have also changed from 850,000 rials (approximately $1.4) per kilogram on February 5 to 10.5 million rials (approximately $1.76) on March 5.
On the other hand, many items in shops and stores differ from what officials claim. According to the IRGC-linked Mehr news agency, for example, the monitoring and inspection unit of Semnan province has announced that veal (mixed) should be sold for 5 million rials rials (approximately $8.4) per kilogram, but in butcher shops, prices are not less than 5.6 million rials (approximately $9.5).
In this situation, on Thursday, March 13, the regime’s Etemad newspaper wrote, by publishing an article titled “Inflation, Unemployment, and Stress are Breaking People’s Nerves Enough; Do Not Further Stomp on People’s Spirit and Psyche,” criticizing the social pressures imposed on the people.
The newspaper mentions that “over the past few months leading up to the elections (held on March 1), drawing lines and threatening unveiled women had diminished.” It criticizes the authorities for not showing clear efforts to avoid exacerbating tensions in this severe inflation situation.
