The state-run Mehr News Agency, citing data from Iran’s Statistical Center showing widespread food price hikes, reported that the failure of anti-inflation policies and the government’s poor communication have created a wave of public distrust and economic anxiety.
The report, published on Wednesday, November 5, stated that in recent months, price trends in the market have painted “a worrying picture” of the government’s economic policymaking.
According to the report, data from Iran’s Statistical Center shows that in the year ending October 2025, bread, grains, fruits, and nuts have doubled in price, while vegetable inflation exceeded 77%.
Mehr wrote that the current crisis does not merely stem from weak anti-inflation policies but from structural imbalances and managerial inefficiencies throughout various layers of the national economy.
The report also highlighted a “significant gap” between the exchange rate’s growth and the increase in commodity prices, noting that while the currency rate rose by around 30–40% in the first half of the year, most goods—including cars, food, clothing, and housing—experienced price hikes between 60% and 100%.
Under these circumstances, according to official reports, rural inflation has surpassed 53% and food inflation has exceeded 60%, deepening class divides.
The performance of regime president Masoud Pezeshkian’s government has previously been criticized by the media.
For example, the state-run Khabar Online website wrote on October 31 that “the scope of poverty is expanding,” noting that while the parliament’s Research Center had previously reported 30% of the population living in poverty, new estimates indicate an increase to 36%.
Khabar Online also referred to discussions about a “hunger crisis,” adding that given the current high inflation, “both the intensity of hunger and the number of the hungry are expected to increase in the coming years.”
In addition, Morteza Afghah, an economist and faculty member at Ahvaz University, warned in an interview on November 1 that if Pezeshkian’s government fails to control tensions, Iran will face “a major stagflation crisis,” predicting that the inflation rate may exceed 60% by the end of the year (March 21, 2026).
In this context, the state-run Rokna website reported on Wednesday, November 5, that thousands of government employees in ministries such as Agriculture, Welfare, and Education speak of “living below the poverty line.”
Rokna quoted employees of the Ministry of Agriculture saying that their base salaries range from 13 to 15 million tomans (130 to 150 million rials, roughly $130), and even with overtime and benefits, they cannot afford rent or daily expenses.
This situation also applies to workers in Iran. Currently, the minimum monthly wage for laborers under the labor law is less than 11 million tomans (110 million rials, roughly $100), and with benefits included, around 15 million tomans (150 million rials).
Meanwhile, some official labor organizations have estimated the cost of living in Iran at around 50 million tomans (500 million rials, approximately $435).
In contrast, Fatemeh Mohajerani, the government spokesperson, said on October 21 that the poverty line in 2024 was estimated at 6,128,739 tomans (61,287,390 rials, roughly $55) per person.
Her comments drew widespread criticism. For instance, the state-run ILNA news agency wrote on Wednesday, November 5, that the absolute poverty line announced by the Central Bank for 2024 (the previous year) was 11.2 million tomans (112 million rials, about $100) per person.
In part of its Wednesday report, the state-run Mehr News Agency described the government’s short-term and reactive market control policies as insufficient, emphasizing that “institutional incoherence and lack of coordination among economic agencies” are major challenges facing the government.
One issue raised in the report was instability in the supply of livestock feed and the continual rise in feed prices, leading to reduced poultry production and even the slaughter of breeding animals—“a warning sign for food security in the coming months,” according to experts.
Mehr urged the government to rebuild public perception of the economic situation, warning that otherwise, even improvements in economic indicators, without trust-building and managing public sentiment, will not lead to “the restoration of people’s psychological security and social stability.”
Following decades of the Iranian regime’s failed economic, domestic, and foreign policies, soaring inflation has severely impacted citizens’ lives—especially low-income groups—causing an unprecedented surge in the prices of essential goods.
