Al Jazeera reports: Advertisement “And it’s not just me – I think most people in society right now can’t afford many of the things they want,” she said. The lowest price hikes were for butter, at 48 percent, followed by infant formula at 71 percent and pasta at 75 percent.Majid, a young man who works at a liver kebab shop in the capital, said the eatery has increased prices three times in recent months.“The price of liver has doubled. When we ask suppliers why, they either say there’s a shortage or that sheep are being exported.
Honestly, there’s no real oversight,” he said.The state-run Consumers and Producers Protection Organization said in a directive sent to 31 governors across Iran on Sunday that new price hikes for cooking oil are “illegal” and “must be returned to previous levels”, without saying how officials expected that to happen amid deteriorating economic conditions.The country’s embattled currency, the rial, has also been registering new all-time lows over the past two weeks. On Sunday afternoon, it stood at about 1.77 million against the US dollar in Tehran’s open market after marginally recovering. Authorities are considering raising the amount, but a hefty budget crunch has made that more difficult.
Background
Advertisement Pezeshkian and Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati have said they are aware of the price increases, but have blamed the war that began in late February while coordinating with the judiciary to act against price gauging and hoarding.A number of lawmakers in Iran’s hardline-dominated parliament, as well as state television hosts and outlets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have said the price surges are suspicious. They have described the runaway prices as being part of an “economic revenge” campaign by enemies who suffered failures in the military arena.“I want the people of Iran not to be fooled by the enemy-made price hikes,” a guest on state television’s Ofogh network said on Saturday.
Key facts
- Advertisement “And it’s not just me – I think most people in society right now can’t afford many of the things they want,” she said.
- When we ask suppliers why, they either say there’s a shortage or that sheep are being exported.
- On Sunday afternoon, it stood at about 1.77 million against the US dollar in Tehran’s open market after marginally recovering.
What this means
“Great things have happened, and great things are ahead. The economic achievements of the war are unrivalled by any other period.”But some of the economic pain continues to be inflicted as a direct result of a near-total internet shutdown now being imposed by Iranian authorities for a 72nd day.Numerous officials in the government, internet infrastructure firms, telecommunication companies and other state-linked organisations have emphasised that they are against a tiered internet system that is now being implemented. But they have said they bear no responsibility, since the blackout, which is expected to remain in place until the war ends, is ordered by the Supreme National Security Council.In the meantime, the combined impact of local mismanagement, Western sanctions, blockade, war and the internet shutdown is squeezing people and businesses hard.“The startup ecosystem of the country is dead, we are searching for a tombstone for it,” the Guild Association of Internet-based Businesses said in a statement on Saturday.
Originally reported by Al Jazeera. This story has been edited and re-presented by BRIC Team.
