At a ceremony held in Isfahan on Thursday, May 17, Ali Agha Mohammadi, a member of the Iranian egime’s Expediency Discernment Council said that nearly 20 million of the country’s 85 million population are deprived of basic living facilities such as housing, employment, education up to the age of 12, health, food, and clothing. He also said that 2,020 neighborhoods across the country are deprived of basic living facilities.
According to Agha Mohammadi, 874,000 people between the ages of 6 and 17 have been forced to drop out of school.
It is worth noting that this number only includes children who have been identified and does not include child laborers or homeless children living in the streets.
According to Article 30 of the regime’s Constitution, “The government is obliged to provide free education and free education facilities for all citizens up to the end of high school, and to extend higher education facilities to the limits of the country’s self-sufficiency, free of charge.”
Agha Mohammadi also said that 1.8 million people in Iran are “unable to empower themselves and these individuals will be covered by support institutions.” These individuals are unable to work due to age, health, or other reasons and must be covered by social insurance.
According to a report by the Research Center of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) published in February, the number of people living below the poverty line in Iran has increased by ten million in a decade. The report shows that the population living below the poverty line was around 16 million in 2011. At the end of 2021, however, this population had increased to over 26 million.
According to statistics from the regime’s Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, which the Research Center report was based on, the majority of this population has been added in the years 2018 and 2019. Based on these statistics, in Iran one out of every three people lives below the poverty line.Iranian workers, among other sectors of the society, have been protesting their poor economic circumstances for years now. The regime’s semi-official ILNA News Agency, in a report published on May 13, discussed the Ministry of Labor’s policy regarding one of the Iranian workers’ important demands of workers, being an increase in wages. The report compared inflation and the cost of living in three areas: housing, food, and transportation, with the wages of workers.
50 percent of the country’s population live in absolute poverty line
“While a minimum of 30 percent inflation has been imposed on the lives of families, there is no sign of the fulfillment of economic ministers’ promises during the wage negotiations of the Supreme Labor Council, and more importantly, in such situations, the Minister of Labor explicitly states that the reform of salaries is not currently on the agenda,” the report reads in part.
The report concludes that a minimum of 30 to 40 percent inflation has been imposed on the livelihood basket of working-class families. A 30 percent inflation in food, 100 percent in housing, and at least 40 percent in transportation has been imposed on low-income workers and households. According to the ILNA report, “if a precise survey is conducted in the field of medicine and treatment, we will witness at least a 30 percent inflation in the cost of commonly used medicines.”
“When about 60 percent of employed workers in Iran receive a monthly salary of 80 million rials (approximately $154) at best, and with that amount, they cannot even rent an average 70-square-meter apartment, not only in Tehran but in many other cities, how can workers make ends meet and lead at least a dignified and decent life?” the ILNA report asks.
Unbridled inflation, no salary raises
ILNA also referred to the statements of Supreme Labor Council who promised a 27 percent increase in wages to “labor representatives” if the inflation is controlled. However, this promise is being ignored while inflation remains uncontrolled.
“The Supreme Labor Council, in alliance with the employers, has given the greatest profit to capitalists by keeping wages low and labor force cheap” and “preventing the founding of independent and national labor unions,” according to Boram Hassani-nejad, a labor activist and former secretary of the Miners’ Union of Chador Malu in the city of Yazd, central Iran.
According to the latest estimates, Iran’s point-to-point inflation in March reached 68.7 percent and is one step away from 70 percent. This is the highest point-to-point inflation recorded in at least the past 32 years. The question is whether, given the current inflation and the 200 million rial (approximately $383.50) poverty line and 80 million rial salaries (approximately $154), is the number of people deprived of necessities the same as the figure announced by a member of the regime Expediency Discernment Council?
In response to a question of how real is the announced figure of 19.7 million people who are deprived of basic necessities of life such as housing, employment, education up to 12 years, health, food, and clothing, Hossein Raghfar, an economist linked to the government and a member of the faculty at Al-Zahra University said, “The number of people currently living in absolute poverty doesn’t appear to be less than 50 percent of the country’s population. This means that these people do not even have access to the minimum requirements of human life.”
“The government is planning to submit a plan to the parliament under the title of ‘Inflation Control and Production Growth,’” Raghfar added. “However, what has been proposed will only make conditions harder for the people and will not lead to any positive change in the economy. Such vague plans cannot be expected to bring about any change, and the current imbalance will continue with no hope in sight.”
On Friday, May 19, three protesters were executed in Isfahan by the Iranian regime’s judiciary, following orders from regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Despite the widespread domestic and international protests, the prisoners, Saleh Mirhashemi, 36, Majid Kazemi, 30, and Saeed Yaghoubi, 37, were subjected to months of physical and mental torture before being falsely accused of “moharebeh” (enmity against God) and executed. The regime has used the deaths of several members of its security forces during the November 2022 protests in Isfahan to justify these executions.
Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi were arrested in November 2022 following their participation in protests in Isfahan amid the nationwide protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini.
Furthermore, reports indicate that security forces have abducted the brother of Majid Kazemi.
These latest hangings come amidst a surge of executions in Iran. The regime’s judiciary also executed four others in Isfahan on Friday. In the week from Saturday, May 13 to Friday, May 19, at least 40 prisoners have been executed, and since the beginning of the current Persian month (April 21), 116 prisoners have been executed by the order of Khamenei. This means that the regime executes one person every six hours.
Following these executions, people in several cities, including Isfahan, Tehran, Karaj, Bandar Abbas, Dehgolan, Mashhad, and Mahabad, took to the streets and chanted slogans against Khamenei.
Protesters chanted:
“This year is the year of the overthrow of the regime!”
“We do not want an executioner regime!”
“Death to the dictator!”
“Death to the Khamenei!”
“We swear on the blood of the martyrs we will stand until the end!”
At the same time, seven prisoners were transferred to solitary cells in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj (west of Tehran) for execution.
The families of the prisoners who have been sentenced to death, Saeed Garavand, Samad Garavand, and Shahab Mansoori Nasab, gathered in front of Karaj’s Ghezel Hesar prison in protesting the transfer of their loved ones for execution. These families have gathered to save their loved ones, but security forces beat and mistreated them.
Security forces beat the prisoners’ families
Iran accounted for 70 percent of the executions carried out in the Middle East and North Africa in 2022, according to Amnesty.
Since the mullahs came to power, they have sought to portray executions as a tool for upholding justice under various legal pretexts. The right to life is an undeniable human right, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the third article, alongside freedom and security. However, the Iranian regime has always used executions as a political tool to suppress its opponents.
In the current explosive situation in Iranian society, increasing the number of executions serves no purpose other than to promote state-sponsored violence and prevent the people from rising up. There is no doubt that religious fascism has turned to executions to combat the spirit of protesting.
The regime’s judiciary knows that this is the only way to prevent popular uprisings and protests.
According to Iran’s state media, last year, at least one million students dropped out of school due to poverty. Meanwhile, according to official sources, the country’s educational system lacks at least 300,000 teachers. Instead of addressing these problems, Iranian authorities have introduced the “Amin” plan. But what is this plan?
According to Reza Morad Sarahi, the acting Minister of Education, the government of Ebrahim Raisi has no plan to recruit new teachers but instead wants to hire 50,000 clerics or “educational coaches.”
The regime’s Minister of Education was recently booted amid rising protests by Iranian teachers who continued holding rallies, demanding higher salaries, and protesting the state’s refusal to implement the ranking system that was supposed to compensate educational staff according to merit and experience while adjusting to the state’s inflation rate. The recent wave of chemical attacks in schools, particularly the all-girl schools, was another major factor for discontent.
Based on the ranking bill, teachers must undergo a classification process considering five criteria: “general qualification, profession, expertise, experience, and competitiveness.” The levels attained through this process will then determine the corresponding salary for each teacher.
Yet, this plan has never been realized, and the chemical attacks persist by the regime’s operatives against schoolchildren. Instead, authorities want to increase their oppressive methods by sending state-affiliated clerics to schools in the so-called “Amin Plan.”
“Our ministry will zealously try to implement the Amin plan, to have our beloved clerics in the schools again,” Morad Sarahi said on May 13. “The educational activities are our main goal. We are facing a shortage of 50,000 educational coaches. This year, 11,000 people will be employed for this purpose, but it is still not enough,” he added, while blatantly rejecting that the country lacks at least 300,000 teachers.
Following the anti-monarchial revolution in 1979, the clerical establishment conducted a deceptive strategy by dispatching agents and oppressive elements to schools, masquerading as “educational coaches.” Their sinister objective was to identify dissidents, imprison them, and manipulate students through indoctrination, preparing them for deployment to war fronts.
On January 5, 1989, the Ministry of Education of the regime shockingly declared that during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), 440,000 students were deployed to the front lines. These students were tragically exploited as cannon fodder, forced to sweep minefields.
Since September 2022, Iranian students, particularly girls, have demonstrated immense courage and played a pivotal role in the nationwide uprising, boldly confronting the oppressive forces of the regime. As a result, Iranian authorities resorted to chemical attacks and now want to deploy their agents, seeking revenge against these resilient students.
Besides their tasks to control schools, Iranian authorities aim to plunder Iranians further. According to the state-run Tasnim News Agency on May 17, “the tuition of so-called for-profit middle schools is nearly 600 million rials or around one thousand dollars, and the tuition of elementary schools is between 220 and 530 million rials, roughly $900.”
These for-profit schools are predominantly under the control of affiliates of the regime, who profit immensely from them. Ironically, the regime’s constitution states that education should be fair, free, and accessible to all. However, with schools experiencing a shortage of teachers and lacking basic necessities such as boards, and in rural areas, even proper buildings, it becomes nearly impossible for Iranian children to access free education. Furthermore, it is important to highlight that government-run schools, which are supposed to be free, often impose various fees on students’ families under different pretexts.
Despite taking money from students’ parents, officials refuse to pay teachers’ salaries or adjust their payments with the soaring inflation.
These measures not only turn education into an unattainable dream for many Iranians and contribute to a rise in school dropouts but also exacerbate the country’s brain drain.
According to the Stanford Iran 2040 Project, an academic platform focused on studying Iran’s development, a report released in April 2020 revealed significant growth in the population of Iranian-born emigrants. Prior to the 1979 revolution, this population stood at approximately half a million individuals, but by 2019, it had soared to 3.1 million. The United States, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom emerged as the most popular destinations for Iranian emigrants.
Iran’s educational system, plagued by corruption, mismanagement, and incompetence under the clerical regime, is a major source of concern. It is no surprise that Iranians from diverse backgrounds united in their protests, consistently calling for regime change.
The sharp decrease in the allocation of flour to bakers across Iran is making their work increasingly difficult. Reports indicate that these rations are being reduced every ten days, and maintaining the fixed price of bread will lead to a bread crisis throughout the country.
The head of the Sangaki Bakers (a traditional bread in Iran) Union announced that bakers in Tehran are receiving 50 to 60 percent less in flour rations. Mohammad Soleimani said in an interview with the semiofficial ILNA news agency on May 16 that the government intended to end the practice of selling flour at government rates and pay bakers the price difference through the implementation of an “intelligent automation plan for bakers”.
Sangak bread
The government intended to prevent the sale of flour through this plan, but the result was that the allocation of flour to bakers was reduced every ten days, Soleimani explained, adding that “another concern has been added to the bakers’ worries.”
According to Soleimani, bakers are no longer motivated to continue their line of work following the significant decrease in flour rations and escalating business prices.
Soleimani explained that baking bread for Sangaki bakers is not economically feasible at a price of 30,000 rials (approximately $0.05) for each loaf, adding that the government intends to keep the bread price fixed by decree. Soleimani also reported the disregard for the price analysis of the Union and said that the government does not ask for the opinion of industry experts about the price of bread.
Sangaki bread under 50,000 rials is not economically justifiable, Soleimani continued, adding that bakers who sell Sangaki bread for 30,000 rials are manipulating its weight.
According to Soleimani, there are various reasons for the reduction in the bakers’ flour rations. Even bakers who have not committed any violations in the sale, weight, or price of bread have faced a reduction of 20 bags from their rations.
It is worth noting that the minimum monthly salary of wage earners in Iran is approximately 80 million rials (approx. $155).
Disruptions in smart devices, another problem in Iran’s bakeries
According to reports, one of the problems facing bakers is the frequent disruptions witnessed in their electronic payment devices. Also, the shortage of paper rolls for electronic payment devices has forces bakers to spend a lot of time trying to contact support companies to obtain paper rolls. According to the head of the Sangaki Bakers Union, in one case, instead of purchasing 11 loafs bread, the electronic payment device registered the purchase of 1,111 bread loafs. Returning the mistakenly deposited money was only possible after repeated calls to the Union. This is because the company in charge of the support system for this device had said that refunding money in this system is impossible.
Economy Ministry: No government plan to increase price of bread and bakery flour this year
Meanwhile, the regime’s Ministry of Economy has announced that the government has no plan to increase the price of bread and bakery flour this year but intends to strengthen the economy of bakery units by relying on non-monetary tools. Earlier claims about the stability of bread prices had been made, but these claims do not correspond to the reality of the market and the actual price of bread.
The Ministry of Economy has also claimed that the increase in the price of government-purchased wheat does not necessarily mean an increase in the price of flour delivered to bakers and the price of bread. In previous years, the increase in the price of government-purchased wheat from farmers did not lead to an increase in the price of flour and bread, the Ministry statement added.
These remarks are made at a time when the Tehran Chamber of Commerce warned last December that the failure to eliminate subsidies for flour and bread, and the resulting mandatory pricing stability in this industry could lead to a new crisis. The diversion of subsidized flour from bakeries to livestock farming could lead to a bread crisis.
When visiting different bakeries, people are faced with different prices. You can buy a loaf of Sangaki bread from 50,000 to 400,000 rials (approximately $0.19 to $0.76), although their quality has not changed.
However, Sangaki bread in most bakeries costs around 100,000 rials, making it too expensive for the majority of Iranian families as tens of millions of people are currently living in poverty.
For months, Russia has been targeting non-military infrastructure and residential areas in Ukraine using Iranian-made drones on a large scale. The Ukrainian Air Force has also shot down hundreds of Iranian drones. Western countries have confirmed this and have imposed several sanctions against Iran as a result.
The European Union imposed sanctions on February 25 against seven Iranian weapons manufacturers and four individuals in Iran for providing drones to Russia, which were then used to attack both government and civilian targets in Ukraine. The sanctions targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, six defense companies connected to the Iranian regime government, and high-ranking executives in Iran’s drone industry. Iran exported a significant number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) between August 2022 and February 2023, including Shahed suicide/kamikaze drones and Mohajer reconnaissance and strike drones. The United States imposed more than two dozen sanctions in eight different rounds between September 2022 and April 2023, targeting Iranian drone manufacturers, the IRGC Aerospace Force, and the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force closely linked to the Kremlin.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on May 15 that Iran “remains Russia’s top military backer, and Iran has already provided Russia with artillery and tank rounds for use in Ukraine.”
Patel said that since August “Iran has provided Russia with more than 400 UAVs, primarily of the Shahed variety, and Russia has expended most of these UAVs using them to target Ukrainian critical infrastructure inside Ukraine.”
“The deepening of this cooperation is a threat and a danger to not just Ukraine, but a threat and a danger to Russia’s neighbors, Iran’s neighbors, and the international community broadly,” Patel told reporters.
The remains of an Iranian drone in Ukraine
On May 15, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a briefing that the Russia-Iran ties allow Russia to kill more people in Ukraine while enabling Iran to stockpile military hardware and pose a greater threat to its neighbors.
For a long time, the Iranian regime concealed its shipment of drones to Russia. However, according to the regime’s official IRNA news agency, on November 5, 2022, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian admitted to reporters that the regime had provided Russia with a “limited number of drones.”
Amir-Abdollahian claimed that these drones had been delivered to Russia “months before the start of war in Ukraine.” Apparently, the purchase of the drones from Iran was finalized during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tehran in July 2022.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement on July 16, 2022, that the administration has “information that the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with several hundred UAVs.” “We assess an official Russian delegation recently received a showcase of Iranian attack-capable UAVs. We are releasing these images captured in June showing Iranian UAVs that the Russian government delegation saw that day,” Sullivan added. “This suggests ongoing Russian interest in acquiring Iranian attack-capable UAVs,” Sullivan explained.
Kyiv has repeatedly reported the use of Iran’s Shahed 136 drones by the Russian military to attack non-nuclear facilities and targets in Ukraine.
The Shahed 136, or Geran-2 in Russian service, also called a suicide or kamikaze drone, is an Iranian loitering munition in the form of an autonomous pusher-prop drone.
Reports suggest that with the depletion of its previous stock of drones purchased from the Iranian regime, Russia intends to buy more drones.
“Iran also continues to provide Russia with one-way attack UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Since August, Iran has provided Russia with more than 400 UAVs primarily of the Shahed variety,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on May 15.
“Russia has expended most of these UAVs, using them to target Ukrainian critical infrastructure inside Ukraine. By providing Russia with these UAVs, Iran has been directly enabling Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine,” Kirby added.
The most recent disclosure is one of many intelligence findings being gradually released by the administration, aimed at revealing what U.S. officials describe as an increasingly close defense alliance between Moscow and Tehran.
According to U.S. officials, Iran has also been supplying Russia with artillery and tank rounds to support its invasion of Ukraine.
“This is a full-scale defense partnership that is harmful to Ukraine, to the region in the Middle East and to the international community,” said Kirby and added that Iran has been “Russia’s top military backer” since the start of the Ukraine invasion.
Iran is attempting to acquire more military hardware from Russia, such as attack helicopters, radars, and YAK-130 combat trainer planes. Additionally, Iran recently announced that it had concluded negotiations to purchase Su-35 fighter jets from Russia.
“In total, Iran is seeking billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment from Russia,” Kirby said.
In a recent development that has sparked significant controversy worldwide, the Iranian regime’s representative has been appointed as chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Social Forum. This decision raises concerns and invites scrutiny due to the stark contrast it presents with the regime’s well-documented human rights violations record. While the United Nations aims to protect and promote human rights globally, the appointment of a state with a troubling human rights track record calls into question the credibility and effectiveness of the Council in fulfilling its mandate.
The clerical regime has long faced extensive criticism and condemnation for its systemic human rights violations. Reports from various sources, including the United Nations, independent human rights organizations, and experts, have consistently highlighted the gravity and scale of these violations. These abuses encompass a broad range of issues, including restrictions on freedom of expression, arbitrary arrests and detentions, persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, suppression of political dissent, and limitations on women’s rights, among others.
The United Nations itself has expressed concern over the situation in Iran. In November 2022, the UN Human Rights Council called for an independent investigation into the ongoing deadly violence against protesters in the country. Additionally, the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights situation in Iran Javaid Rehman has repeatedly stated that Iran’s violations of human rights amount to a crime against humanity. These calls for accountability and investigation underscore the severity and gravity of the human rights situation in Iran.
Giving the regime such a position in the UN Human Rights Council raises serious questions about the credibility and integrity of the Council. The very purpose of the Council is to protect and promote human rights worldwide, and its leadership should reflect a commitment to those principles.
While the new appointment at the UNHCR is practically rewarding Tehran with global recognition, it sends a clear message to the people of Iran and that they are left alone and that their oppressors still continue to enjoy impunity.
For more than four decades, Iran has been plagued by severe human rights violations, a deepening economic crisis, and growing inequality, leaving its people in a state of despair and frustration. As the world community turns a blind eye to these ongoing abuses, the Iranian people find themselves with no other choice but to stand up for their rights. Despite international calls for action and occasional condemnations, the world community has largely failed to address the systematic abuses and hold their perpetrators to account. The consequences have been devastating, with the regime continuing to oppress calls for peaceful change.
Left with little hope for improvement, the people of Iran have taken matters into their own hands. Every now and then, generations of dissenters have been driven to the streets in a quest for justice, freedom, and a better future. The scale and persistence of their protests demonstrate the deep-rooted discontent and the urgency for substantive change.
The prolonged neglect of human rights in Iran, coupled with the prevailing socio-economic challenges, has led to the radicalization of the people’s movement. As they witness their fundamental rights violated with impunity, frustration and anger have fueled a growing sense of resistance. The absence of a peaceful and constructive outlet for their grievances has pushed some towards such measures.
The growing rebellious spirit of the society underscore a growing disillusionment with the ruling system and its representatives. The people of Iran are taking great measures to challenge the very foundations of power in Iran.
As the authoritarian clerical regime persists in quashing dissent, while its systemic exploitation and deceit erode the foundations of the middle class, the swelling multitudes of the destitute grow larger, their fury serving as the sole recourse for change.
There have been at least dozens of executions in Iran in recent days, indicating a deteriorating human rights situation amid a nationwide uprising in the country.
On May 14, two individuals, Saeed Arjamandi (22 years old) and Kiyomarth Menbari, were hanged in Sanandaj Central Prison. Furthermore, on Saturday, May 13, six prisoners were executed in Kerman Prison.
Adding to the grim toll, on Friday, May 12, the regime hanged Hossein Rigi, a 23-year-old Baluchi citizen, in Mashhad’s Vakil Abad prison.
In a disturbing development, death row inmates are being relocated to solitary cells, heightening concerns over their impending executions.
According to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) affiliated Fars News Agency, 18 prisoners, including six women, who have been sentenced to death in Dastgerd and Dolat Abad prisons in Isfahan, are now at risk of execution.
The recent surge in executions by Iranian authorities represents a grave infringement upon the fundamental right to life and demands strong international condemnation.
Iranian authorities have carried out a wave of executions since late April, hanging at least 60 individuals, including an Iranian-Swedish citizen who was executed on terror-related charges.
Numerous cases involved executions following unfair trials or were based on charges, such as drug offenses and “blasphemy,” that should not warrant the death penalty under international legal standards.
Despite global efforts to abolish capital punishment, Iran continues to maintain its position as one of the world’s leading executioners.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the year 2022 witnessed a staggering number of executions in Iran, with 565 individuals put to death. Shockingly, among them were five individuals who were under the age of 18 when they allegedly committed the crimes they were accused of. The alarming trend continued into the current year, with at least 192 executions reported between January 1 and May 5, 2023. This grim tally includes eight women and most cases involving drug-related offenses and murder.
The country is in a dire economic state, characterized by utter chaos and instability. Reports reveal a staggering 50% inflation rate, coupled with a steep devaluation of the currency and a distressing surge in unemployment.
As a result, the purchasing power of the population has sharply declined, leading to alarming levels of poverty. The persistent oppression endured by the Iranian people over the course of decades has only intensified the already volatile nature of their society. The current situation can be likened to a powder keg, primed for potential upheaval and unrest.
The flames of discontent persist, smoldering beneath the surface, waiting for a spark to ignite another widespread uprising. These executions represent the regime’s desperate attempts to quell or at least intimidate a restive society.
The surging executions once again expose the ruthless impunity prevailing in Iran under the rule of mass murderers. These escalating human rights abuses in Iran, though distressing, come as no surprise after decades of atrocities committed by the mullahs, particularly under the current leadership.
When Ebrahim Raisi assumed presidency in June 2021, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard remarked, “The fact that Ebrahim Raisi has ascended to the presidency instead of being held accountable for crimes against humanity such as murder, enforced disappearance, and torture is a chilling indication of the prevailing impunity in Iran.”
The international community must bring the Iranian regime’s atrocities to the attention of the UN Security Council and prosecute its leaders for four decades of crimes against humanity and genocide.
Iranian regime outlets have reported a decrease in housing construction in the capital of Iran to “the lowest level in the past 23 years.” A housing expert has also warned about the growth of “shantytown” around Tehran.
In an interview with the state-run Entekhab website published on May 13, Ahmadreza Sarhadi, a housing expert, warned about the phenomenon of “shared houses” and “rooftop sleeping” in Tehran, explaining how people’s incomes cannot provide for their basic necessities, including mortgages.
“Some people cannot even afford to rent a house in the southern neighborhoods of Tehran. Renting a 50-square-meter house in Naziabad [district in southern Tehran] has now reached 1 billion rials ($2,000) [in advance payment] and 100 million rials ($200) [in rent] per month,” said Sarhadi.
It is worth noting that the minimum monthly salary of wage earners in Iran is approximately 80 million rials or $155.
Sarhadi added that if inflation is not controlled in Iran, “the situation will get worse” and “slum neighborhoods will surround the city [of Tehran].”
“Government plans in the housing sector have all failed. The only plan that has been somewhat successful is the ‘Mehr housing plan’, which has provided some people with homes. Other plans have had no output at all,” he further explained.
In an interview with the semiofficial ILNA news agency, Ali Akbar Eywazi, a member of the board of directors of the Retirees’ Association of Tehran Workers, said, “In no part of Tehran is the monthly rent less than 70 or 80 million rials ($140 to $160), provided that at least 2 billion rials ($2,000) are paid as advanced payment.”
The high cost of housing in Iran in recent years has led to an increase in slum dwellers and even people literally sleeping in graveyards, “rooftop sleeping,” and “shared houses.”
Recession in Iran’s Housing Construction
Since Ebrahim Raisi assumed office as president in August 2021, government officials have promised to build four million housing units in Iran within four years. However, over time the Raisi government has backed down from this pledge and now plans to enter some of the already-built houses into the housing market by imposing heavy taxes on vacant houses.
This slowdown in housing construction in Iran comes as the state-run “90 Eghtesadi” website reported on May 14 that housing construction in Tehran has reached “the lowest level in the past 23 years,” according to statistics from the Iranian Statistics Center. According to the report, the number of housing units listed in Tehran’s building permit in the first nine months of 2022 decreased by 8.9 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 30,038 units.
The statistics also show that the total number of housing units listed in the Tehran building permit in the year 2021 was 44,549, which is the lowest construction rate since 1998.
“The total 12-month construction (from 21 March 2022 to 21 March 2023) will be less than the 23-year period from 1998 to 2021,” the report concluded.
It is worth noting that these statistics are related to last year because the statistical centers in Iran either publish the statistics late or refuse to make them available to the public.
“In Iran’s metropolises, the slum population increases by about four percent each year. However, this figure is less than one percent in other countries across the world. Tehran has a four to five percent increase in slum population every year, which is a disaster. This means that the city will double in size after 20 years,” said Baitullah Satarian, a member of the faculty of Tehran University and an expert in housing economics. Ali Farnam, an expert at the Research Center of the regime’s Majlis (parliament), said, “At the beginning of 2018, the average housing price per square meter was 60 million rials. Today, however, the average price per square meter of a residential unit in Tehran is 600 million rials. The price of housing has increased ten fold in five years.”
In a report, the Rokna news website rejected the government officials’ statistics about housing. “The majority of those who are considered as ‘homeowners’ in the government lists and statistics, ‘not only do not have a house, but with the increase in inflation, will move from the city to the suburbs and slums, and finally to living in a ‘shanty house,’’’ the report reads.
Despite the fact that a significant number of people are becoming homeless or living in extremely poor conditions, the ruling regime in Iran has failed to provide any viable solutions.
Retirement funds have become a secluded courtyard for the children of Iran’s government officials, known among Iranians as “Aghazadeh”, who, along with the regime’s corrupt apparatus, have directed the regime into dangerous waters.
The retirement fund crisis in Iran has been an ongoing issue that many experts consider to be the regime’s biggest economic challenge in the near future. Recently, this crisis has once again made headlines in Iranian state media, and Sajjad Padam, the Director-General of Social Security Insurance at the Ministry of Welfare, has become the regime’s fallout guy of this chaotic situation. In a strange statement, he announced the sale of Kish and Qeshm islands and even Khuzestan province to address the retirement fund crisis. Although Padam claimed his statements were taken out of context, it still rendered his dismissal.
This is not the first time that Iran’s retirement fund crisis has been brought up. The history of this crisis, or perhaps its media coverage, dates back to the Hassan Rouhani administration and Ali Rabiei serving as the regime’s Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare.
In 2018, Ahmad Meidari, then Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, said the government’s debt to these funds stood at 1,700 trillion rials (approximately $16.19 billion at that time). “If we don’t think of a solution for the retirement funds, we will face a critical situation in the near future,” Meidari said.
Although it seems that this crisis has been an economic challenge, it remains quite sensitive and closely knit to security matters. The news and remarks by officials and experts about this economic dilemma show the depth of this catastrophe before Tehran’s rulers.
Rabiei had warned about this issue on numerous occasions. In 2016, he raised the issue of corruption in these funds and questioned their profitability.
The retirement fund crisis in Iran has been an ongoing issue that has not been addressed adequately. The challenge has significant economic and security implications.
In an open-doors session of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) in January, the current Minister of Labor, Sowlat Mortazavi, acknowledged the existence of a serious crisis in Iran’s social security system. He warned that if the regime continues with its current policies, by the year 2026 there will be a deficit of resources in both the Social Security Fund and the National Pensions Fund.
Masoud Nili, an economist close to the regime in Iran, recently pointed out that the lack of administrative and political independence of these funds is a major problem. When the government faces a budget deficit, it turns to the pension funds for support, creating a debt that threatens the funds’ stability.
Retirement funds on the verge of bankruptcy
According to the latest statistics, the Social Security Organization, which covers around 15.5 million workers paying insurance, pays pensions to about 4.3 million retirees each year. The National Pension Fund, as the second largest pension fund in Iran, covers about 880,000 insured workers and pays pensions to 1.63 million retirees. The imbalance between the number of pensioners and contributors, along with corruption and mismanagement, has put the pension funds at serious risk of bankruptcy.
Moreover, corruption is rife within these funds in Iran. The funds have become increasingly dependent on government resources and the general budget. These pension funds were supposed to be financially independent and have their own policies, but they have turned into some of the government’s largest financial dependents. The hasty and improper privatization of some companies, transferring them to pension funds in exchange for government debt, and appointing unqualified managers with ties to certain elites have created serious problems for the funds. The former CEO of the country’s Steel Pension Fund revealed that due to mismanagement, the fund had accumulated 800 legal cases worth 100 trillion rials (approximately $192 million), with the involvement of some well-known figures, former minister’s children, and elites.
The problem of corruption in the pension funds is not limited to Iran’s appointment of certain individuals, but also includes exorbitant salaries and bonuses. In an interview, Sowlat Mortazavi said that some individuals in the pension funds receive monthly gifts of 500 to 1000 million rials ($1,000 to $2,000), in addition to their monthly salaries of 200 million rials ($400).
The roots of Iran’s pension fund crisis cannot be solved by simply changing officials. This challenge poses a serious threat to the regime’s security. The corrupt structure of these funds and weak management apparatus, along with increasing debt, cannot be easily resolved. The pension funds have become a safe haven for some elites and have reached a critical point that requires urgent attention.
On the other hand, we see that pensioners across Iran are protesting on a daily basis for their rights.
Protests are continuing in Iran as the country’s economy continues to experience further crises as a result of the mullahs’ destructive policies. More retirees are taking to the streets as they are finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet, especially as the national currency, the rial, has plunged in value against the U.S. dollar.
Regime officials refrain from addressing the pensioners’ demands. The protesters complain that their meager pensions are not nearly enough to cover their most basic expenses and are often delayed for several months.
Pensions and salaries have not been adjusted to this fundamental shift in the Iranian society’s economic dynamics. Under the current rates, most pensioners are living under the regime’s own poverty line.
“Is Olivier Vandecasteele [a Belgian citizen kidnapped by the Iranian regime] a victim of a deal that might have failed? While Olivier Vandecasteele remains in detention in Iran, new information about this case has been leaked out”, according to a May 9 report by the Belgium DH newspaper.
According to a piece by La Libre published on May 8, “Obtained documents reveal behind the scenes of the Assadollah Assadi case; Olivier Vandecasteele was used as a bargaining chip. [This document] confirms the main role played by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and explains how Belgium and Iran were negotiating about their prisoner transfer agreement before the capture of Olivier Vandecasteele in Tehran.” Assadollah Assadi, a Vienna-based Iranian diplomat, was arrested for attempting to carry out a terrorist attack using a powerful bomb that he transferred in a diplomatic package from Tehran to Vienna and intended to use it to target a large rally of Iranians in Paris on 30 June 2018. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison after his arrest and trial in a Belgian court.
Olivier Vandecasteele
Assadi did not attend any of the court sessions, counting on “behind the scenes” deals between Tehran and Brussels. Of course, the newly released documents show that his hope was not baseless. Immediately after the verdict, the Iranian regime accelerated its overt and covert efforts. On 24 February 2022, Iranian regime agents abducted Vandecasteele in Iran in order to swap for Assadi.
On 19 September 2022, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said in a message to an Iranian Resistance rally in Belgium: “It has been almost three months since you stopped the return of [Tehran’s] diplomat-terrorist bomber to his bosses. You have blocked the path for the mullahs who wanted to establish their terrorism command headquarters in the heart of Europe with this law.” This is in reference to a legislation passed by the Belgian Parliament to pave the path for a prisoner exchange with the Iranian regime that would involve Assadi’s return to Tehran.
Nearly eight months after the initial Belgian court hearing, and coinciding with the publication of confidential documents from the regime’s Foreign Ministry, the Belgian Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper reported on May 8: “Belgium and Iran first reached an agreement on the exchange of prisoners, and then a few months later, Olivier Vandecasteele was arrested as a bargaining chip”.
Detailing the documents, the Het Laatste Nieuws piece continues: “These documents show that the first draft of the agreement between Iran and Belgium was written in Tehran on April 26, 2021. The first signatures of the representatives of both ministries were on May 31, 2021, … The important and noteworthy point is that the Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele was still a free man at that time. He was arrested in Iran on February 24, 2022, and was sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes in a mock trial.”
The NCRI issued a statement on January 10, 2023, referring to Tehran’s well-known method of state terrorism. “The threat of flogging and 40 years of imprisonment is a dirty and inhuman judicial blackmail by the mullahs,” the NCRI statement reads in part.
Meanwhile, Rouydad 24, a government-linked website in Iran, published a piece on April 28 confirming the leaked documents and reports related to Assadollah Assadi. “This report states that the issue of Assadollah Assadi falls within the duties and responsibilities of the Ministry of Intelligence, and all related movements and activities have been managed and directed by the Ministry of Intelligence after his arrest…”.
All evidence shows that Tehran was preparing to return its diplomat-terrorist to Iran within 48 hours. However, the NCRI-led campaign, in withstanding Tehran’s repression and terrorism for four decades, was able to prevent the implementation of this appeasement-riddled deal. In this regard, Belgian MP Quen Metso said in a rally held in front of the Belgian Parliament on July 19, 2022: “By raising your voice, you changed the scene because you are a nation.”
