The Iranian regime provides an amount equivalent to 10 years’ earnings of a minimum-wage worker to each Lebanese affiliated with Hezbollah.
On the evening of Thursday, December 5, Naim Qassem, the Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, stated in a televised speech that with financial assistance, most of which comes from Iran, each Lebanese family in Beirut whose home was destroyed will receive between $12,000 and $14,000.
Qassem thanked Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Iranian regime, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for their “generous support” and noted that Hezbollah has so far distributed $57 million to over 170,000 war-affected families. He added that $8,000 would be provided for rebuilding each destroyed home, along with $6,000 for one year’s rent to the residents of Beirut.
Meanwhile, the minimum wage in Iran ranges between 80 and 100 million rials (approximately $114 to $143), with the annual total reaching at best 1.2 billion rials (about $1,714). However, the rial equivalent of the aid given to each Lebanese family equals 10 years’ earnings of a minimum-wage worker in Iran.
The situation is similar for other social groups. According to a bill passed by the regime’s Majlis (parliament), the minimum pension for retirees in 2025 will not exceed 120 million rials. Meanwhile, the average rent in major Iranian cities is 150 million rials (approximately $214), and minimum-wage earners receive no significant assistance for housing expenses.
This condition is not limited to workers and retirees. On Thursday, December 5, Hossein Simayi, Iran’s Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, admitted that university professors in Iran, even with 40 years of experience, earn less than $1,000 per month. In other words, the aid received by Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese surpasses the annual salary of a full professor in Iran.
Recently, Alireza Raisi, Deputy Minister of Health in Iran, stated that the per capita consumption of meat, milk, and dairy products in Iran has fallen to less than half the recommended and natural human requirements. Before him, Ahmad Shad, Secretary of the Association of Raw Animal Product Importers, had said that the annual per capita meat consumption of Iranians does not even reach one kilogram.
Similarly, the per capita consumption of chicken, dairy products, fruits, and rice in Iran has significantly declined. The rising prices of food items and the decreasing purchasing power of the population have jeopardized the food security of many Iranians.
According to official reports from the Iranian Parliament’s Research Center, about 26 million Iranians are unable to meet their basic needs. Social and economic activists assert that the actual poverty rate and the number of impoverished people exceed the official figures. Even these statistics reveal the increasing poverty and misery within Iranian society.
Massoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran’s regime, has focused on the issue of “imbalances” since the early days of his tenure, claiming that resolving problems is impossible without “correcting these imbalances.” He increased household water, electricity, and gas tariffs and is now seeking to raise gasoline prices. Over the past four months, the prices of most food items, from tomatoes and onions to eggs and butter, have continued to rise.
In such circumstances, the leader of Hezbollah openly reveals the substantial financial support provided by Iran’s regime.
These statements by a senior Hamas member received widespread attention at the time, and many Iranians reacted to them. It has now become clear to everyone that Iran’s financial assistance to proxy groups is far greater than what is disclosed in the news.
While the Iranian people have consistently expressed their opposition to such actions by chanting slogans like “Neither Gaza, nor Lebanon, my life for Iran,” the Iranian regime continues its interventionist policies in the region.
