Iran’s empty tables will lead to social explosion

Inflation and prices are increasing on an almost weekly basis in Iran with some goods increasing on a daily basis.

The price of basic goods and services such as meat, water and electricity, the subway and gas and many other goods have soared.

The state-run Jahane San’at daily recently painted a clear picture of Iran’s economy.

“The people have become around three times poorer than last year, and their purchasing power has fallen sharply,” the newspaper wrote.

“According to the Iranian Statistics Center, the 12-month inflation rate reached 30.6 percent by the Iranian new year in March 2019. According to this report, the inflation rate of food groups in March was about 44.9% compared to the same month last year. The rising inflation and prices are alarming not only for the people but also for the government because these food groups have no alternative,” Jahane San’at wrote on May 7.

The return of rationing coupons

Regime officials blame all their economic problems on the US-led sanctions so that instead of solving problems, they can place all the blame on foreign elements.

This is while before they felt the full force of sanctions, they said that the dire state of the economy had nothing to do with sanctions and even went as far as boasting that sanctions would be a way for them to achieve self-sufficiency.

But now there are whispers in state-run media that the regime intends to ration out some foodstuff.

According to Jahane San’at, Iran’s Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri had suggested rationing out some goods.

Recession

Another reason behind high prices is the recession in production. Investors prefer to go into import and export which guarantees profits, instead of the less profitable manufacturing sector.

Since the bulk of the import-export sector is in the hands of those affiliated with the regime, this puts even more economic pressure on ordinary Iranians.

Chaos and collapse

The only thing that is apparent is the internal conflict among various factions of the regime who are extremely concerned about the consequences of the economic crisis, namely widespread street protests that can erupt at any minute by a people fed up with decades of mismanagement, plunder, and suppression.

A parliament representative recently addressed Iran’s President Rouhani in Majlis and said that the increase in gas prices was like “setting fire to the fodder of frustrations”.

It is under these circumstances that many believe that the regime is sitting on a time bomb and despite not hearing what its people are saying, they have very clearly heard the alarm bells.

Parliament member Mohammad Reza Najafi also recently warned that the US aimed to create “internal chaos” with its maximum pressure campaign.

“Political pressure coupled with exacerbated economic pressure through prevention of oil sales and the intensification of sanctions have only one goal; an economic war, internal chaos, and eventually the collapse of the system,” he said.

Regime officials are constantly warning each other about how dangerous and explosive the situation has become in Iran.

In addition to the existing economic crisis, millions of flood victims have also exacerbated the situation; a situation that will have severe social consequences for the regime.