A Government Survey Reports 92% Public Dissatisfaction with Current Conditions in Iran

The National Research Institute of Culture, Art and Communication in Iran has announced that in a survey titled 'The Fourth Wave of the National Survey of Values and Attitudes of Iranians', 92% of Iranians are dissatisfied with the current situation in Iran. The newspaper Ham-Mihan, in its current issue, published the results of this survey, stating that respondents identified the most pressing issues in the country as inflation and rising prices at 81.9%, unemployment at 47.9%, addiction at 26.9%, economic and administrative corruption at 13.1%, housing issues at 12.1%, the hijab issue at 11.9%, youth marriage issues at 10.7%, divorce at 7.1%, water scarcity at 5.7%, and non-compliance with the law at 4.7%. The article published in Ham-Mihan regarding the methodology of this 'survey', conducted last year, states that the sample size was 15,878 individuals, with results based on responses from urban and rural households with members over 51 years old residing in 15 provinces at the time of execution. Some experts believe that surveys conducted within the Islamic Republic lack verifiability and that these organizations are willing to acknowledge certain social problems to downplay others. Therefore, critics argue that this survey, while acknowledging inflation, rising prices, and unemployment, attempts to minimize one of the largest demands of the past two years regarding optional hijab. In another part of the survey, it is claimed that there are three opinions among the people regarding the current situation: 61.6% believed that 'the current situation should be improved through reforms', 30.2% believed 'the country's situation is not reformable', and 8.2% responded that the current situation is 'good and defensible'. This section of the survey is also viewed by experts and political activists as an attempt to justify the inefficiency of the system and the economic reforms mentioned by Pezeshkian, while a significant portion of society that seeks to move beyond the Islamic Republic has been overlooked. It is noteworthy that the Islamic Republic currently faces multiple issues, including legitimacy within the country, severe budget and energy imbalances, lack of access to sufficient foreign currency resources, sanctions, and the security influence of other countries. With Pezeshkian replacing Raisi, the government is trying to rally the people around the overarching policies of the regime under the slogan 'national unity' to navigate through these crises. Many critics and opponents believe that the existing crises in Iran stem from the governance style of the Islamic Republic and that the only solution to many current problems is structural changes in the governance system. The head of the Bar Association reported 'about 20 murders and 60 serious assassination attempts' against lawyers in the past decade. Immediate compliance of Pezeshkian's government with Khamenei; allocation of fifty trillion tomans for 'childbearing' and increasing the population. A 60% gap between the 11 million tomans wage of workers and the minimum living basket in Iran. A 7% decrease in demand for food; livelihoods in a critical state. The government's debt of 110 trillion tomans to wheat farmers; the Minister of Agriculture's promise: payment will be made in October.