Thousands of Iranian Children Will Miss the New School YearAdditionally, the Iranian regime has not publicly presented a report on the status of children under custody. Around ten years ago, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the former Minister of Justice, had announced the possibility of marriage between adopted children and their guardians. Prior to that, the representatives of the regime’s parliament approved a bill on the protection of orphaned and neglected children, which allowed the possibility of marriage between adopted children and their guardians, subject to court approval. It is worth mentioning that children under the age of 12 make up one-fifth of the country’s population. However, an examination of the “health” and “well-being” of this group indicates that approximately 10% suffer from malnutrition and around 15% are underweight. In the most optimistic scenario, out of the population of 88 million in Iran, according to regime media statistics, there are at least 500,000 child laborers.
Iran’s Children in Dire Conditions, According to Government Report
Amidst widespread criticism of how the Iranian government treats children, Amin Hossein Rahimi, the Minister of Justice, announced that a report on the status of Iranian children has finally been sent to the United Nations after a “several-year delay.”
Rahimi, speaking on a television program on November 20, did not mention the date of the report’s submission, nor did he specify the exact length of the delay in sending the report.
Rahimi also did not provide any details about the content of the report. The news of the several-year delay in preparing and submitting this report comes as the Minister of Justice himself stated in his remarks on Monday that the “most important international duty” of the Ministry of Justice as the “national reference for children’s rights” is to prepare this very report for submission to the United Nations.
This Iranian regime official added that this report should be submitted to the United Nations every five years, but the “latest report has been completed and submitted after a several-year delay.”
Over the past year, due to the suppression of nationwide protests, both domestic and international criticism of the Iranian government’s treatment of children has increased. In December of last year, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) condemned the violence against children during the crackdown on protests, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of children and adolescents.
At least 70 children under the age of 18 were killed during the protests in Iran in 2022 by the security forces of the Iranian regime.
During the nationwide protests, numerous reports were published about the arrest, interrogation, reprimand, and search of students’ belongings, and in some cases, “security forces’ attacks on schools,” followed by various reports of poisonings in girls’ schools.
Before UNICEF, more than 620 specialist doctors in the field of children’s health had demanded an “immediate halt” to any violent treatment of children in a statement in mid-November of last year.
While the Iranian regime denies these violent actions, Amin Hossein Rahimi, the Minister of Justice of the Islamic Republic, did not address this issue on Monday. The majority of his remarks in this conversation were about the situation of children in Gaza.
Rahimi did not provide an explanation for the delay in reporting on Iranian children, but he announced that his ministry, by inviting UNICEF representatives to Tehran, has sought support for the children of Gaza and has had separate correspondence with the Secretariat of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF regarding this matter.
Facilitating the Temporary Custody of Orphaned and AbandonedChildren
The Minister of Justice also announced on Tuesday the facilitation of the temporary transfer of custody of orphaned and abandoned children to interested families.
Rahimi stated, “Considering the special circumstances and time-consuming process of adoption, based on the proposal of the Ministry of Justice, the regulations of the law on the protection of orphaned and abandoned children were revised, allowing the Welfare Organization to temporarily place children with qualified families after assessing their suitability.”
He had previously stated, “As soon as an orphaned or abandoned child is placed under the custody of the Welfare Organization by the order of the prosecutor, the organization can deliver the child to families willing to provide temporary care.”
However, the Minister of Justice did not provide further details or conditions regarding the temporary guardianship of these children.
Leaked Audio File Reveals Tehran’s Plan to Recruit Foreign Students
A dissident group named “Ghiam ta Sarnegouni” (meaning “Uprising Until Regime Overthrow”) has released an audio file of the remarks by the head of the “Leadership Institution in Universities” Hamid Reza Haddadpour, referring to the recruitment of foreign students in Iran to create “intellectual footholds and strongholds” for the Iranian regime in other countries.
Ghiam ta Sarnegouni disabled 830 websites and servers of the Office of the regime’s Supreme Leader’s Representative in Universities. The group also released a ream of documents about the regime’s agents in the education system.
According to the published audio file, Hamid Reza Haddadpour stated, “Many of the students are the children of influential individuals from their own countries, who will naturally take the place of their fathers.”
Haddadpour mentioned that based on the orders of the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and after several meetings in his office, it has been decided to appoint individuals as cultural secretaries for international students.
He stated, “We deliberately avoid using words like ‘missionary’ and ‘mentor’ that carry sensitivities.”
According to Haddadpour, these individuals are selected with the proposal of the International Deputy of the Office of Ali Khamenei and the Office of the Supreme Leader’s Representative in Universities, and they are expected to establish connections with foreign students, especially in dormitories.
He announced that project contracts will be signed with these individuals, and they will be paid an amount ranging from 50 to 90 million rials (approximately $100 to $175).
It is worth noting that the minimum monthly wage of workers is about 80 million rials (approximately $153).
In his concluding remarks, Haddadpour mentioned that Qasem Soleimani, the Head of Iran’s IRGC Quds Force Terror Group, (Soleimani was murdered on 3 January 2020 by a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad International Airport), emphasized the need for serious attention to international students.
He stated that Qasem Soleimani even corresponded with the government regarding some of the difficulties encountered in this regard.
Haddadpour emphasized that by educating foreign students in Iran, “intellectual footholds and strongholds for the Islamic Republic are created in the region and other countries, as we have seen in the past and now witness its effects.”
Previously, reports were published about the presence of foreign students affiliated with regime proxy groups in Iran, as well as the Iranian regime’s use of foreign students in other countries for espionage and other activities.
In July, university officials in Tehran agreed in a meeting with leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces (a paramilitary group linked to the Iranian regime in Iraq) that their members and other regime proxy forces who are “seeking education” would enter Iranian universities, including the University of Tehran.
Two years ago, Bahram Einollahi, the Minister of Health, emphasized the necessity of “educating foreign students” and stated, “The realization of the Islamic Revolution can be achieved through foreign students, as educated foreign students in Iran have become good missionaries for the Islamic Republic of Iran in their own countries.”
Five years ago, a 31-year-old Pakistani student accused of espionage for the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was arrested in Germany.
” Al-Mustafa International University,” an institution under the supervision of Ali Khamenei, also provides training to foreign clerics in Iran and uses these clerics for its own activities. It has been sanctioned by the United States and Canada.
In December 2022, The Jewish Chronicle reported that “The Islamic College” in Britain, affiliated with “Al-Mustafa International University,” is a base for the Iranian regime, but the spokesperson of the college denied this claim.
Education in Iran: Teachers Without Contracts, Students Without Shelter
Mohammad Vahidi, a member of the Education and Research Committee of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (Parliament), announced that 18,000 reserve teachers were employed without employment contracts, timely payment of salaries, and insurance. He admitted that the Ministry of Education should determine the fate of these teachers.
On November 17, Mohammad Vahidi, referred to the employment of 18,000 reserve teachers in the new academic year and announced that these individuals are working without contracts, salaries, and insurance, and their situation should be determined by the Ministry of Education.
After two months into the new academic year, Vahidi mentioned that “in October of this year, 23,000 primary school classes had no teachers.”
“The Ministry of Education has been forced to invite some of the reserve teachers, who had ten years of teaching experience and were removed from the system, to teach again,” he stated.
Referring to the fact that “approximately 18,000 reserve teachers were sent to classrooms without teachers, but these individuals still lack contracts, salaries, and insurance,” he added, “At the very least, it is expected that the Ministry of Education determines their situation.”
According to Vahidi, “Teachers who were recently recruited through the employment examination entered classrooms without completing the teacher training course and are simultaneously undergoing their training while teaching, even though these individuals are required to complete a six-month or one-year teacher training course before entering schools.”
Hamidreza Hajibabayi, the head of the Teachers’ Faction in the Majlis, also reported in December of last year that there was a shortage of 300,000 teachers in various fields, including physical education, educational affairs, and laboratories.
The teacher shortage crisis in Iran has heightened in recent months, with protests from teachers about the government’s inability to pay their salaries and delayed paychecks. The government, as usual, has responded with indifference, repression, and the arrest and imprisonment of some protesting teachers.
3 million students studying in dilapidated schools
A few days ago, Vahidi also mentioned that an earthquake can endanger the lives of 3 million students in dilapidated schools. “In the government bill, the funding for the resilience and reconstruction of schools was contingent upon a 1% increase in value-added tax, while these funds should come from the government’s fixed revenues,” he said. Referring to the failure to consider the decree related to the reconstruction and resilience of the country’s schools in the Seventh Development Plan, Vahidi stated, ”Unfortunately, the proposed government bill regarding the reconstruction and strengthening of schools was contingent upon the approval of a 9% to 10% increase in value-added tax, which is clear that the Majlis opposes it due to its inflationary nature.” Hamidreza Khan-Mohammadi, the Deputy Minister of Education of Iran, also reported in June that more than 11% of the country’s schools were dilapidated and in need of reconstruction. Hamidreza Khan-Mohammadi announced that 13% of the country’s schools, which is about 100,000 classrooms, are dilapidated and need to be strengthened. However, the problems are not limited to the dilapidation of schools. The lack of water and student dropouts should also not be overlooked. According to the report of the Ministry of Education in 2022, out of a total of 106,491 public schools nationwide, 7,017 schools (11.19%) lack access to drinking water through urban or rural pipelines, and 5,268 schools (8.4%) lack toilets. Another serious problem in government schools is the high student population in classrooms. Most school classes have 40 students, even though according to the decision of the Supreme Council of Education, elementary school classes should not exceed 26 students under any circumstances. In the academic year 2022-2023, over 556,000 Iranian adolescents, or according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children aged 15 to 17, dropped out of school. Among them, more than 295,000 were boys and more than 261,000 were girls. This is just one of the bitter statistics reported by the Statistical Center of Iran in its report titled “Social and Cultural Situation of Iran, Spring 2023.” The provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Khorasan Razavi, Tehran, Khuzestan, and West Azerbaijan have the highest absolute number of school dropouts.Minimum Wage Increase Removed From Agenda of Iran’s Supreme Labor Council
According to a report by the regime’s semi-official ILNA news agency, the meeting of the Supreme Labor Council is scheduled to be held on November 20, but “the official agenda of the session does not mention the issue of wage adjustment.”
According to the report, the main topic of the session, as stated in the invitation received by the “labor members” of the council, is “addressing workers’ housing.”
Previously, the meeting of the Supreme Labor Council was held on October 30, responsible for determining the minimum wage for workers covered by the labor law, without making a decision regarding the widespread protests against the low wages compared to the cost of living.
ILNA, quoting Mohsen Bagheri, who was mentioned as a workers’ representative in this council, wrote: “It was decided that the discussion of wage restoration would be examined in sessions with the presence of representatives of the government, employers, and workers as experts, and ultimately, at the end of November, an official session for wage restoration would be held.”
The regime is completely indifferent to the real hardships of the people and does not take steps to alleviate the economic problems.
In this regard, Sowlat Mortazavi, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, and other officials of this ministry and the Organization for Planning and Budget have repeatedly opposed increasing workers’ wages, a position that has been supported by representatives of employers.
Currently, the minimum wage for workers covered by the labor law, who are married and with children, with benefits, is about 80 million rials (approximately $158) per month.
However, according to reports published in the regime’s official news agencies, hundreds of thousands of workers employed in small and so-called “under staircase” workshops that are not covered by the labor law are deprived of even this amount.
This year, the minimum wage for a worker covered by the labor law is 53.08 million rials. Comparing the dollar value of this figure shows that in March of this year, a worker’s wage was equivalent to about $120, while now, in November, the value of this wage has dropped to less than $100. In simple terms, in a six-month period, one-fifth of a worker’s wage value has plummeted.
This is happening while hunger, poverty, and misery are rampant in society, and we witness almost daily gatherings and protests by workers, wage earners, and retirees.
According to reports from social networks and trade union media, workers’ and guilds’ protests continue in some parts of Iran. On November 18, a group of farmers held a protest rally in front of the governorate building in Isfahan to reiterate their demands.
This is not the first time that farmers in Isfahan province have protested against the lack of attention to their work problems.
In the past decade, various regions of Iran have witnessed protests by farmers, and last year a newspaper, citing statistics from the Iranian Statistical Center, reported on the unemployment of one-fourth of the country’s farmers over the past seven years.
At the same time, a group of temporary employees of the Ministry of Petroleum gathered in protest in front of the National Iranian South Oil Company in Ahvaz.
In western Iran, a group of nurses at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Eslamabad-e Gharb held a protest rally at their workplace.
Similarly, in central Iran, a group of nurses gathered in front of the governorate building in Yazd to protest the lack of attention to their demands.
On the eve of Nurses’ Day, nurses are protesting the delay of more than a year in their tariff and benefits and demanding an increase in their benefits and wages.
IRNA, the regime’s official news agency, reported on Saturday, November 18, quoting Shams al-Din Shamsi, a member of the Supreme Nursing System Council, that there is a shortage of more than 30,000 nurses in the country.
Iran’s Inflation Rate at Highest Level in Past 22 Months
While the Statistical Center of Iran had announced an inflation rate of about 39 percent for October 2023, the latest report from the Central Bank of Iran to the judiciary shows that the inflation index in October was 54.8 percent, the highest figure in the past 22 months.
The regime’s Central Bank suspended the publication of consumer price index data in 2023. The Statistical Center also released these indices with significant delays on a monthly basis to make their changes less noticeable compared to previous years.
The changes in the consumer price index over one year compared to a similar period in the previous year indicate the annual inflation rate. Evaluating this index is important because it includes a higher inflation memory.
In the early months of the Persian calendar year 1402 (which began on March 21, 2023), the Statistical Center of Iran changed the base year for inflation evaluations from 2016 to 2021, with the help of statistical manipulations to show a reduction in the inflation rate. However, the recent report from the Central Bank to the judiciary reveals that prices in October 2023 have increased by over a thousand percent compared to the base year of 2016.
The Central Bank provides the judiciary with a table of consumer goods and services price indices every year. An examination of this table, which has been leaked to the media, reveals a significant decline in people’s purchasing power and a continuous increase in the inflation rate.
The Central Bank’s report also indicates a significant monthly growth in inflation. This index had a 3.2 percent growth in October, and the monthly inflation rate in the past three months was also above three percent.
The growth of the consumer price index in October 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year also shows that point-to-point inflation is still above 50 percent. According to the data from this center, the point-to-point inflation in October was 54.3 percent, which, despite a 14-percentage point decrease in recent months, is still high.
In the first month of this fall, the average inflation was approximately equivalent to the point-to-point inflation and exceeded the threshold of 50 percent.
The significant growth of the inflation rate indicates the increasing economic turmoil in Ebrahim Raisi’s government.
Earlier, the Statistical Center of Iran had announced in a report that in October, the annual inflation rate had surpassed 45 percent for all Iranian households.
Although the Statistical Center had set the average of 45.5 percent as the annual inflation rate baseline, the data from this center also showed that people in at least nine provinces, including Hamadan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kurdistan, Lorestan, Isfahan, Kermanshah, North Khorasan, Yazd, and East Azerbaijan, faced inflation rates above 50 percent, with the rate exceeding 56 percent in Yazd province.
Despite the fact that price increases are clear indicators of the upward trend in inflation in Iran, Ebrahim Raisi and his government officials continue to claim a reduction in the inflation rate and argue that it will drop below 30 percent by the end of this year.
These claims persist while people directly feel the impact of inflation and high prices in their daily lives. Examining the living conditions of Iranians reveals the reality that millions of people are getting poorer day by day, and among them, the situation of workers and minimum wage earners is even more concerning.
Iran’s 60%-Enriched Uranium Stockpile Enough For 3 Atomic Bombs, IAEA Reports
According to a new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium has increased from 6.7 kilograms to 128.3 kilograms since the agency’s last report in September.
This amount is more than three times the approximately 42 kilograms that, according to the agency’s definition, theoretically suffices for the construction of a nuclear bomb if further enriched.
Reuters reported that Iran currently has enough uranium with a concentration of 60% to produce three atomic bombs, according to the IAEA’s standards, and it has not yet answered the agency’s key questions and concerns regarding its nuclear program.
In a section of the recent confidential report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was obtained by this news agency on November 15, it is stated that since the previous report by the agency on September 4, the volume of 60% enriched uranium in Iran has increased by 6.7 kilograms and reached approximately 128 kilograms.
According to the agency’s standards, this amount, if its concentration is increased to 90%, is more than three times the uranium needed to produce a nuclear bomb.
In its new report, dated November 14, the IAEApoints out that no progress has been made in negotiations with the Iranian government regarding two old and important issues. The first issue is the installation of additional control and inspection equipment in Iran’s nuclear facilities after their dismantlementat the request of the country’s government last year. The second issue is obtaining satisfactory answers regarding the discovery of uranium traces at two nuclear facilities in Iran.
Furthermore, the new report by the agency reminds that there has been no progress regarding the acceptance of several inspectors designated by the agency, which the Iranian government objected to when they were sent to the country in September.
According to diplomats, the designated inspectors, who are reportedly French and German and said to be the most experienced inspectors of this agency, have so far been unable to go to Iran and begin their work due to Tehran’s opposition.
“The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution a year ago ordering Iran to comply with an IAEA investigation into uranium traces found at three undeclared sites. Since then the IAEA has narrowed the list of sites to two but little other progress has been made,” Reuters added.
“This measure, while formally permitted… was exercised by Iran in a manner that directly and seriously affects the Agency’s ability to conduct effectively its verification activities in Iran, in particular at the enrichment facilities,” the report reads in part.
“The (IAEA) Director General (Grossi) continues to strongly condemn Iran’s sudden withdrawal of the designations of several experienced Agency inspectors,” the report added.
Iran’s Regime Exported $1 Billion In Military Gear In 2022
In a speech at Tehran’s Rajaei University on November 13, Mehdi Farahi, the deputy defense minister of the Iranian regime, claimed that Iran had “almost $1 billion” in military exports in the past year.
Without referring to the details of the military export items, Farahi stated that the Ministry of Defense uses “knowledge-based companies, industrial towns, universities, and science and technology parks,” and that “7,000 companies” and over “100,000 individuals” collaborate with this ministry.
This Defense Ministry official announced the “billion-dollar” military exports of Iran in the past year while the United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran’s missile program, based on the nuclear agreement, the JCPOA, ended in October.
However, the United States government declared that it would intensify efforts to counter this program and the production of drones in Iran by imposing new sanctions.
Previously, in a statement on October 6, Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief foreign policy official, announced that the United Kingdom, France, and Germany had no intention of lifting the sanctions against Iran, which were set to expire on October 18.
Based on numerous evidence and reports of Russian attacks on military and non-military infrastructure in Ukraine using Iranian-made drones, most of Tehran’s military exports in the past year and a half have been to Moscow.
The Ukrainian government reported in October that over 600 attacks had been carried out on cities in the country by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the preceding three months.
On August 4, the United States’ Defense Department showcased an exhibition on Iranian drones used in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department stated that the United States had “definitely” provided evidence in this regard.
The purpose of presenting this evidence to foreign officials, members of Congress, and journalists is to prove that Iran’s public denial of providing drone assistance to Russia in the Ukrainian war is baseless.
For months, the Iranian regime denied sending drones to Russia for the purpose of targeting civilians and non-military infrastructure in Ukraine. However, eventually, with the presentation of credible evidence by Western institutions, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian confirmed this matter in November 2022. He claimed, however, that the drones had been delivered to Russia before the Ukrainian war and in limited numbers.
Russia has utilized drones in many of its attacks on Ukraine, and the recovered remnants of these downed UAVs indicated that Russia was employing Iranian-made suicide drones in the conflict.
Theft Increases as Poverty Soars in Iran
The economic crisis in Iran has exacerbated various social anomalies, and in the latest case, Reza Akbari, the regime’s Deputy of Road Administration at the Road and Transportation Organization, has stated that road equipment worth up to one trillion rials (approximately $2 million) is stolen annually.
Akbari emphasized that this road equipment, including road signs and safety measures, is usually stolen by low-income and addicted individuals.
According to this regime official, these thefts are not limited to the country’s highways alone, and theft rates are much higher in cities, especially in Tehran.
In March, the “Open Data Iran” platform reported a 70-percent increase in theft rates in Iran between 2012 and 2021, based on data from the regime’s Statistics Center.
According to this platform’s report, during this period, theft cases increased from approximately 545,000 per year to over 900,000.
Theft is one of the consequences of the economic crisis, as poverty and livelihood problems lead to an increase in the number of thieves in the country.
Tehran Police Chief Hossein Rahimi announced last November that 55 percent of detained thieves are first-time offenders.
The state-run Etemad newspaper also wrote on June 15: “Thieves, in their interviews with the media, mostly say that they had economic problems, which led them to resort to theft. However, theft has a very close relationship with societal crises. Economic crises and livelihood problems, increasing class disparities, inflation, divorce, unemployment, and family problems, among others, influence people’s inclination towards theft.”
On the other hand, while thieves face severe punishments such as amputation according to the regime’s criminal laws, theft rates in the country have not only failed to decrease but, according to regime officials, have had a worrisome growth in previous years.
Earlier, Reza Masoudifar, the regime’s Deputy for Social Affairs at the Judiciary, had reported a seven-fold increase in theft cases over a 12-year period, from 2009 to 2021.
The state-run “Donya-ye Eghtesad” newspaper explained the reasons for this situation in the country, stating that inflation has led to an increase in the prices of assets. As a result, the price of consumer items such as mobile phones or car parts has reached several times the minimum wage of workers. This has prompted thieves to accept the risk and consequences of theft.
The price of an iPhone 15 Pro Max in the global market is around $1,200, but in Iran, it is sold at approximately $2,000. It is worth noting that the minimum wage for a worker in Iran is 80 million rials (approximately $155).
Etemad newspaper also emphasized that the high youth unemployment rate indicates that the economy lacks the capacity to absorb job seekers, which is another factor contributing to the increase in crimes committed to earn income.
The “Tajarat News” newspaper stated: “The economic disease has spread from the macro level to the intermediate and micro levels and is reflected in the thief and their behavior. We impose imprisonment and punishment on the thief, while the thief is forced to commit theft to make ends meet.”
Sociologists sounded the alarm of social collapse years ago. Now, it is not just a talk of crisis but rather the country is trapped in a major crisis.
In a situation where people are forced to steal road signs to meet their basic needs, the Iranian regime, the greatest thief of the people’s wealth, spends all the money obtained from the sale of oil and other natural resources of Iran on terrorism and warmongering in the region.
Iran: Special and Hard-to-Treat Patients in Dire Conditions
While the economic pressure on patients suffering from “special and hard-to-treat” diseases has increased in Iran more than ever due to inflation and drug shortages, Saeed Karimi, the Deputy Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, has stated that only 25 percent of diseases are covered by the government.
Karimi stated that the “Special Diseases Fund” operates to cover some of the treatment expenses for these patients, but currently, only 107 out of 400 rare and special diseases in the country are covered by this fund.
Regarding the shortage of drugs for this group of patients, Karimi also mentioned that they announce the needs three months prior to the end of the year and indicate an additional 30 percent requirement, and the Food and Drug Organization is also working to provide these drugs.
This claim by the Deputy Minister of Health comes at a time when Heidar Mohammadi, the regime’s head of the Food and Drug Organization, stated on January 21, 2022, that the funds related to the subsidies for infant formula, deductible reduction cash handouts, and drugs for hard-to-treat diseases have significantly decreased and are even lower than the funds allocated for this year.
“Certainly, our supply in these areas faces difficulties,” Heidar Mohammadi said.
However, this warning ultimately manifested itself as a crisis in drug and infant formula supply in the country, and Fathollah Tavassoli, a member of the Parliamentary Economic Commission, stated in October, “The method of supplying drugs for special and hard-to-treat patients is wrong and has caused these patients and their families severe economic stress and problems.”
Fathollah Tavassoli emphasized that the situation is “worrisome,” but “with the adoption of appropriate and special measures,” the existing problems can be resolved.
This Majlis (parliament) member also rejected the claims of Iranian regime officials about the drugs being under sanctions and said, “The drugs are not under sanctions. Of course, there may be difficulties in the transfer of money, but the drugs are not under sanctions, and it is possible to proceed with the importation of drugs.”
Hamidreza Edraki, the CEO of the Rare Diseases Foundation, stated on October 18 to the state-run “Ham-Mihan” newspaper, “The problems in procuring drugs due to their high cost are distressing patients and their families to the extent that they are deviating from normal life to provide these drugs.”
Hamidreza Edraki emphasized, “Unfortunately, insurance covers a small percentage of the costs of purchasing these drugs, and a significant portion of these drugs is not covered, and supplementary insurances also cover a smaller percentage of them.”
The crisis of drug supply for this group of patients is even more complicated in smaller cities because access is less compared to the capital. In this regard, the head of the Supreme Council of Special and Hard-to-Treat Patients in Kermanshah, western Iran, considered the conditions of patients in this city critical and stated on May 22 that 40,000 patients from Kermanshah are officially members of associations for “special and hard-to-treat” patients, and their biggest problem is the shortage of drugs and the inactive status of the Red Crescent Pharmacy in Kermanshah.
The issues surrounding the availability of drugs in Iran are not of recent origin.
Even last year, patients faced difficulties in obtaining children’s flu syrups and simple drugs like antibiotics. This year, the crisis of drugs and infant formula has worsened, and it is predicted that with the onset of the cold and flu season in winter, the drug crisis will enter a new phase.
Despite the scarcity of drugs in public hospitals, all high-quality drugs were available on the black market at several times the price. Unfortunately, all the medicine in the public sector enters the black market through people with connections.
One of the problems that is causing the surge and fluctuation of the prices of medicine and medical equipment is the mafia-style management of the healthcare and medicine industry.
The import, production, and distribution of medicine is controlled by bands that have very close ties to regime officials and agencies. Regime-run organizations, including the Setad (controlled by regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei), the Social Security Investment Company, and Shafa Daru, control 70 percent of the medicine market.
These organizations control supplies and prices, and their only loyalty is their bottom line, not the people’s welfare.
Iran’s medicine smuggling network is so rampant and out of control that the amount of smuggled medicine has exceeded even the country’s official exports, according to a September 21, 2020, report by the Fars news agency.
Patients with special illnesses have come to bear the painful burden of inadequate medicine supply before anyone else in Iran. Now, with inflation and poverty running rampant, most of Iran’s society is reaching a point where they cannot pay for treatment if they have a serious illness.
Government-linked thieves and looters in Iran no longer consider any limits or boundaries on their smuggling and looting.
Wetlands of Iran’s Fars Province Gradually Dying
Ata Pourshirzad, the Director General of Environmental Protection in Fars Province, announced on November 9 that climate change and excessive extraction of groundwater have led to the gradual demise of the wetlands in this province.
According to the semiofficial ILNA news agency, Ata Pourshirzad, spoke about the role and effects of climate change on wetland ecosystems in Shiraz, stating that Fars Province has 14 wetlands, five of which are registered under the Ramsar Convention. The Arzhan and Parishan wetlands, located in the protected area and recognized as biosphere reserves, have completely dried up. The Ramsar Convention is the oldest modern environmental treaty for the conservation of wetlands worldwide, signed by member countries in Ramsar on February 2, 1971.
Referring to the fact that two wetlands, Tashk and Bakhtegan, are also located in the area of the national park, he added that this year we witnessed the drying of these wetlands due to excessive water extraction and a decrease in rainfall and atmospheric precipitation.
The regime’s official stated that the province of Fars is facing severe crisis conditions, water scarcity, and the drying of wetlands, noting that on average, 7.1 billion cubic meters of water from the sources in this province are decreasing annually.
Pourshirzad attributed the increase in dust and salt formation to the drying of the wetlands and said that this phenomenon is particularly evident in the vicinity of Bakhtegan, Tashk, and Maharloo wetlands, while dust storms prevail in other areas surrounding the dried-up wetlands of this province.
Ata Pourshirzad emphasized the need to stop water-intensive agricultural cultivation and stated: “These cultivations must be stopped. For example, Fars should not be a place for growing corn, but corn is still being cultivated in this province.”
Meanwhile, Fars Province is not the only province in Iran facing a crisis.
Hassan Vahid, the Deputy of Water Resources Development at the Natural Resources Organization of Iran, announced that the Hamoun Lake is currently “completely dry,” and told the state-run news agency “ISNA” that the lack of water in this area has turned it into a “critical center of dust storms.”
Most of the news about the wetlands in northern provinces of Iran highlights how they are drying up due to factors such as excessive groundwater extraction for agriculture, dam construction on rivers, and changes in precipitation patterns.
At least six wetlands in Iran, which were listed under the Ramsar Convention, are now on the “Montreux List of Wetlands in Danger” and are considered to be on the brink of extinction.
Nasser Taleb Bidokhti, a member of the scientific faculty at Shiraz University, stated in April that Iran’s wetlands are on the verge of “complete extinction,” including five wetland sites (Anzali, Hamoun Puzak, Hamoun Saberi, Hamoun Hirmand, Neyriz and Komijan) that are at the forefront of the Ramsar Convention’s list.
In provinces like Fars, however, there are specific conditions. The wetlands in Fars Province have significant ecological value, serving as a refuge for migratory birds and supporting various other wildlife species.
In many areas, the drilling of wells within the wetland and river boundaries, as well as numerous dam constructions, have restricted the water supply to the wetlands. For example, the situation of the Hoor-al-Azim wetland is noteworthy, as it faces multiple challenges due to oil companies’ activities. According to a report by the Shargh website on May 24, the battle between the wetland and oil exploration in Hoor-al-Azim continues.
According to the report, four oil fields with over 300 oil wells have encroached upon Hoor-al-Azim, and now another new field has opened up in this last remaining stretch between the two rivers, called the Sohrab Oil Field, which, according to Shargh, aims the heart of Hoor-al-Azim.
It is said that the presence of oil companies in the unmodified area of Hoor-al-Azim will deliver another devastating blow to this completely exhausted wetland.
Previously, the Deputy of Marine Environment Protection at the Department of Environment had mentioned the government’s role in the drying up of this wetland in the year 2021 and stated, “Hoor-al-Azim wetland has dried up for the benefit of a Chinese oil company under the permit of the Supreme National Security Council.”
Fars Province has the highest average land subsidence globally, and many farmers have been forced to abandon their lands. According to statistics from 2020, 50 percent of the villages in this province are now uninhabited.
The destruction of nature and its resources in provinces where people directly rely on water and soil can lead to human crises such as poverty and migration.
The drying up of Hoor-al-Azim is one of the hundreds of examples of the slaughtering of nature by the regime. This regime that has spent all the wealth of the country for its own survival, does not care about the improvement of the environmental situation. For this reason, we are witnessing the destruction of many wetlands, rivers, etc. Zayandeh Rud, Gavkhoni, Maharlo, Karun, and… are just examples of this great crime by the current regime.
