President Masoud Pezeshkian\u2019s administration says it recognizes the public\u2019s right to protest, but it has neither the financial resources to placate the deepening public anger nor the political leverage to confront hardliners who place the blame squarely on the government.<\/p>\n
Pezeshkian addressed the situation on social media on Tuesday, writing that people\u2019s livelihoods are his daily concern and that fundamental reforms of the monetary and banking system are on the agenda to protect purchasing power. He also said he had tasked the interior minister with speaking to representatives of the protesters.<\/p>\n
The message failed to convince most Iranians, including many of Pezeshkian\u2019s own supporters.<\/p>\n
Morteza Nemati Zargaran, a university professor, reminded Pezeshkian in a post on X that recognizing public protests carries no practical guarantees as long as he lacks the necessary authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat action can you take if the protesters\u2019 representatives challenge the country\u2019s overarching policies \u2013 policies to which you have repeatedly declared your loyalty? And what will you do if \u2026 they are arrested by power centers beyond your government?\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Closed is cheaper than open’<\/p>\n
The economic strain has been especially visible in Tehran\u2019s Grand Bazaar.<\/p>\n
Morteza, a 45-year-old former wholesale shoe merchant who recently closed his shop after failing to pay rent, told Iran International that nearly all his fellow traders have joined the ongoing bazaar strike.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey tell me I\u2019m lucky I shut my shop and left,\u201d he said. \u201cThey say they lose less money if they keep their shops closed now than if sell their goods \u2013 because it\u2019s impossible to replace the stock at the same price.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stagnation has become so severe that some shops have recently advertised installment plans for clothing and shoes \u2013 an unprecedented practice in Iran and a sign of sharply declining purchasing power.<\/p>\n
Morteza added: \u201cThe economic situation is so dire that the government no longer dares to deny it. When someone earning 400 million rials a month (around $280) \u2013 still a dream salary for many \u2013 is below the poverty line in Tehran, it means almost no worker or employee can endure the pressure anymore. Everyone has reached their limit, in every sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cautious nod from state media<\/p>\n
Concerns over further escalation appear to be growing within official circles.<\/p>\n
On Monday, state television \u2013 controlled by hardliners opposed to President Masoud Pezeshkian \u2013 briefly covered the bazaar protests for the first time.<\/p>\n
Cameras were taken into shops, airing interviews in which merchants emphasized that their protests were economic in nature and driven by currency volatility rather than politics.<\/p>\n
At the same time, videos circulating on social media showed protesters chanting anti-government slogans in several locations.<\/p>\n
According to Morteza, while the protests so far have had a strong economic dimension, they cannot be reduced to bread-and-butter issues alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cLivelihood is not the only reason for people\u2019s anger. This time, the government cannot calm society with small handouts, superficial concessions or a crackdown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fear at the bottom, strain in the middle<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s deteriorating economy has devastated low-income households while also eroding the lives of salaried middle-class families who once enjoyed relative stability.<\/p>\n
Even by official figures, inflation surpassed 50 percent last month. Yet the government\u2019s proposed budget for next year includes only a 20 percent increase in salaries for civil servants and retirees, deepening concerns over an unbridgeable gap between incomes and living costs.<\/p>\n
Middle-class families may still live in reasonably maintained homes, but a burst pipe, a broken car, or a medical emergency can wipe out most of a month\u2019s income, according to widespread accounts on social media.<\/p>\n
Downsizing, once a coping strategy, now offers little relief. Iran\u2019s housing market \u2013 particularly in Tehran \u2013 is experiencing an unprecedented slump, limiting families\u2019 ability to sell or relocate to offset rising costs of food and utilities.<\/p>\n
Journalist Mohammad Parsi wrote on X: \u201cIn this country\u2026 first buying a home became a dream, then a car, a phone, travel \u2013 and now even essential goods are disappearing from daily life, just like that, in one of the richest countries in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another user, Arian Bahmani, described even buying basic snacks as a financial calculation, calling it \u201ca frightening collapse of living standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe disaster is not that we can\u2019t buy a house or a car \u2013 they\u2019ve been dreams for years,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe disaster is that \u2018500,000-rial (about 35 cents) treats are luxury purchases. When buying snacks becomes a financial risk, we are no longer citizens \u2013 we are hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Masoud Pezeshkian\u2019s administration says it recognizes the public\u2019s right to protest, but it has neither the financial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,87,98127,98124,98123,20889,98125,59417,92,98122,98126,47,43,40,38,41,39,81563],"class_list":["post-215283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-iran","tag-iran-and-china","tag-iran-covid","tag-iran-economy","tag-iran-government","tag-iran-media-iran-and-the-united-states","tag-iran-news","tag-iran-nuclear","tag-iran-politics","tag-iran-us","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us-sanctions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}