While experts emphasize the direct link between economic crises and rising crime rates, an Iranian regime official admitted, following the release of official data, that “economic problems have a direct connection to the rise in social harms.”
According to the state-run Jamaran website, an analysis of data from Iran’s Central Bank and statistics presented in Chapter 15 of the National Statistical Yearbook for 2021 reveals a direct and simultaneous correlation between rising inflation and the rate of theft in the country.
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The report indicates that economic recession, unemployment, inflation, and household financial conditions play a decisive role in the occurrence of crimes.
Additionally, rising inflation and its negative consequences have directly contributed to social disorders and increased crime rates—an issue consistently raised by independent experts who have warned of the repercussions of ignoring it.
Mohammad Bathaei, Deputy Minister of Interior and head of the Social Affairs Organization, acknowledged the link between people’s livelihood struggles and the rise in social harms, stating, “For some types of social issues, the economic situation of the people has a strong correlation with their increase.”
He claimed, “At least in some cases, it is necessary to improve the country’s economic situation in order to control these harms.”
However, evidence suggests that the Iranian regime has taken no tangible steps to control inflation, reduce poverty, or create sustainable employment. Instead, misguided economic policies and an inefficient governance system continue to exacerbate these issues.
One of the most controversial aspects of analyzing social harms is the absence of official reports since 2016.
In response to the question of why the Ministry of Interior has not released a report on the country’s social conditions in recent years, Bathaei promised that the “Social Conditions Report” will be published by the second quarter of 2025 in collaboration with two reputable universities.
This delay in publishing reports comes at a time when inflation and unemployment have worsened, and the rates of theft and other social crimes have increased.
Another key point in Bathaei’s remarks was linking social harms to the presence of foreign nationals, particularly Afghans, in Iran.
While Bathaei stated in another part of his speech that “these two issues should not be linked,” he simultaneously emphasized that “the Ministry of Interior’s policy is to first expel unauthorized foreign nationals in an appropriate manner.”
Referring to the “re-entry of deported foreign nationals,” this senior government official added, “Therefore, the Ministry of Interior, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, law enforcement, and other relevant agencies, is making determined efforts to remove unauthorized foreign nationals from the country.”
Despite repeated statements from social experts that the main causes of social harms are domestic economic crises, systemic corruption, and failed government policies, regime officials continue to blame “foreign nationals” to conceal their inability to provide for the population and their structural failures in addressing social issues.
