Nobakht Responds to Ahmadinejad's Subsidy Proposal: These Claims Lack Proper Foundations

Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, head of Iran's Planning and Budget Organization, reacted to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent proposal to increase cash subsidies to 900,000 tomans by stating, "These claims lack proper computational foundations." According to Hassan Rouhani's deputy, the government "must pay off the 5,800 billion tomans deficit left by the previous government [Ahmadinejad] for the same 45,500 tomans subsidy, so how can this subsidy be increased with this debt left by the previous government?" Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Thursday, December 22, continued his travels to various provinces and towns, criticizing Rouhani's government, which drew reactions. Ahmadinejad, whose rhetoric is described as revolutionary, spoke about restoring subsidy amounts and suggested that the monthly cash subsidy be increased from 45,500 tomans to 900,000 tomans in light of rising prices. Mahmoud Vaezi, Rouhani's chief of staff, previously accused Ahmadinejad of "populism" in an interview with the Jamaran website, stating, "The people know who created this predicament, imposed sanctions on us, and disrupted our relations with neighboring countries." Mohammad Baqer Nobakht emphasized in an interview with ILNA, "Our people are more discerning than to be influenced by such statements that lack proper computational foundations or are based on assumptions that are not feasible." The payment of cash subsidies to the public from the resources obtained from subsidy targeting has been the biggest challenge in implementing this law since its inception. According to Ahmad Tavakoli, a former member of parliament who was involved in the approval of the subsidy targeting law, the cash subsidy amount was initially set at 18,000 tomans, but Ahmadinejad's government raised it to 45,500 tomans. This led to difficulties in securing the necessary resources for this amount, requiring funds for monthly cash subsidies to be sourced from production subsidies, central bank resources, and funds needed for the development of the oil and energy sectors. Rouhani's government has allocated 142 trillion tomans for cash subsidies in the coming year. In another part of his speech to his supporters in the town of Soume' Sara, Ahmadinejad called for a televised debate with Hassan Rouhani. This part of the former president's speech was met with a response from Hesamoddin Ashna, an advisor to Rouhani, who stated in an interview with Khabar Online, "If they remember, once they took 19 minutes and 44 seconds of extra time on the pretext of a debate and made the most of it. Unfortunately, things do not always turn on the same axis." Ashna referred to the 19-minute opportunity given to Ahmadinejad after the 2009 election debates, which was announced by state television due to the remarks of other candidates against him while he was absent. In his speech on Thursday, Ahmadinejad posed the question of whether some officials "know how to run the country, do they also know how to step aside?" This member of the Expediency Discernment Council emphasized, "If they cannot, they should step aside and leave affairs to the will and vote of the people." Although Ahmadinejad's remarks did not have a direct addressee, it was apparent before and after his comments that he was referring to Hassan Rouhani and the executive officials. Ahmadinejad described the management of the country during Rouhani's administration as "the worst and weakest possible form." According to this member of the Expediency Discernment Council, "The majority of the nation is dissatisfied with the management of the country, the economy, abuses, the dominance and privileges of certain families, and the pressures that are imposed on the people and the treatment they receive." Ahmadinejad explicitly mentioned the resignation or removal of Hassan Rouhani before the end of his second presidential term. In this speech, the former president also criticized the JCPOA, its lack of transparency, and the ineffectiveness of this nuclear agreement. He also criticized the treatment of workers, teachers, farmers, and other protesting groups, stating, "You cannot treat them as counter-revolutionaries." Following the controversial 2009 election that declared Ahmadinejad the winner, there was a widespread crackdown, suppression, and arrest of protesters, critics, and political, social, and civil activists, workers, and journalists. In recent years, Ahmadinejad has consistently voiced strong criticisms regarding the management of Iran. Some of his criticisms have been directed at the Larijani brothers, heads of the legislative and judicial branches. Following the arrest, trial, and imprisonment of Hamid Bakai and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, close associates of Ahmadinejad, his criticisms of the pillars of the Islamic Republic have intensified.