Iran's Parliament Approves Urgent Plan for Securing 'Essential Goods'

On Sunday, September 2, Iranian lawmakers approved an urgent plan that, if finalized, would require the government to procure 'essential goods' using state currency and distribute them through consumer cooperatives and chain stores. Mohammad Mahmoudi Shahneshin, a supporter of the plan, stated that essential goods could be provided to the public 'through vouchers or coupons and other methods.' According to this plan, the government must organize a distribution network for essential goods needed by households within a maximum of two months from the date of the law's announcement, utilizing worker, employee, and rural consumer cooperatives, chain stores, selected trade units, and relevant unions to ensure that households' basic needs are met at prices approved by the Consumer and Producer Protection Organization and based on preferential exchange rates. Mohammad Mehdi Mofatteh, spokesperson for the Economic Commission of Parliament, mentioned that due to the 'economic war by the U.S. against Iran,' the prices of 'essential goods' have increased, causing difficulties for people in securing basic needs such as protein sources and dairy products. Alireza Mohajoub, a representative from Tehran, emphasized that this plan should have been approved as an emergency measure 'to restore calm to the country.' The three-urgency plan is approved for emergencies, and after its urgency is approved, representatives review the plan in the same session. In the two-urgency plan, after the urgency is approved, representatives review the general and detailed aspects of the plan in the next session. The proponents of this plan have identified meat, rice, sugar, and some other food items as 'essential goods.' During the Iran-Iraq war and for several years afterward, these goods were distributed among the public through coupons. Previously, the Parliament had also approved new currency policies from the Central Bank on August 4, emphasizing the provision of essential goods needed by society at official rates. Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, had also stated before his dismissal that in the current situation, the 'theory of social resistance' should be implemented to 'prevent social fragility and increase social resilience.' He mentioned controlling food prices and providing food and medicine for those in need and supporting jobs as part of his proposed program's details. The plan does not specify which companies will import these goods and how they will enter Iran. On August 6, the U.S. President announced that part of the sanctions against Iran, which had been suspended after the nuclear agreement, would be re-implemented. The second round of these sanctions, which primarily targets Iran's oil industry, is set to be enforced starting November 4, and U.S. officials claim they are working to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero by that time. Before the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, the prices of various foreign currencies, especially the dollar, surged, with the dollar even reaching 12,000 tomans. The increase in the dollar price has affected other economic indicators in Iran and has sparked a wave of protests in several cities. Meanwhile, in August of this year, the point-to-point inflation rate reached over 24%, and the monthly inflation recorded a figure of 5.5%, breaking a twenty-year record. In this context, the Secretary-General of the Food Industries Association warned of a 100% increase in prices. Nobakht stated that for the next year, a shadow budget 'commensurate with sanctions' will be approved. The return of sanctions; who is the target? A view of Iran's economic turmoil reflected in statistics. A 1% increase in inflation in Iran in August; point-to-point inflation is on the verge of 20%. Changing the playing field of 'proxy wars'; a war against the people in the streets of Iran. The crisis in Iran; the responsibility of the opposition and the possibility of radicalizing Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iranian crisis.