Rafsanjani, Rouhani, and Class Divide

The hundreds of billions of dollars in windfall income during Ahmadinejad's two administrations, along with the sick economic environment caused by sanctions, have manifested themselves in various areas over the past few years; one of these areas is the increasing class divide and the glaring disparities in wealth, leading to the growing inability of underprivileged social layers. One witness is the entry of over 95,000 luxury cars into Iran from 2009 to 2013; the number of imported Porsches during this period was reported to be over 1,762 units. Some media outlets described Iran during this time frame as the largest importer of Porsches in the Middle East. A peculiar field report by journalist Nader Fotourehchi recently highlighted the class divide in Iran; he pointed out the shift from luxury cars to '12 million tomans perfumes, 2 million tomans boxed chocolates, gold-coated ice cream, and 20 million tomans dolls and toys,' along with the increase in the number of restaurants and shops that state: 'Entry only for important persons.' In an open letter to the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, he questioned the relationship between the current situation and the ideals and slogans of the 1979 Revolution, writing that on the city highways, 'watches made from moon dust' (worth several billion tomans each) and 'villa complexes with Italian decorations, golf courses, horse racing, and helicopter pads' are advertised. Fotourehchi also questioned whether a revolution truly occurred in 1979 in Iran, one that was supposed to be 'the lifeline of aspiring masses,' a revolution for 'the barefoot and the cottage dwellers' fighting against 'the palace dwellers' and open to 'the oppressed' of the world. The display of Porsches in the streets of major cities has long been overshadowed by the competition and 'showing off' among billionaires and the affluent classes in Iran, where citizens who describe themselves as 'rich kids' compete based on private jets and yachts. Billionaires, many of whom are unknown to the public according to government-affiliated media, are not few in number. The Shargh newspaper reported that 'the first provider of travel services with private jets' in Iran has been operating for two years; this report stated that each hour of flight costs at least $3,200, plus additional costs (including airport service fees). In other words, a two-day trip to Kish by private jet would cost around 50 million tomans. In addition to what has been mentioned, advertisements for penthouses and palace-like villas and their clients have simultaneously grown amidst the economic crisis. Penthouses with 360-degree views, golden faucets, several hundred square meters of terraces, billiard rooms, and furniture from the most famous brands and home theaters have become commonplace. For several years now, news of buying and selling penthouses and villas worth several tens of billions of tomans in the north and outskirts of Tehran or certain specific areas of the capital and northern Iran has become routine; recently, media reported the sale of a villa for 120 billion tomans in Lavasan. The display of billionaires occurs before the astonished eyes of the army of the poor and unemployed in the country; where, as Fotourehchi puts it, independent of the army of the needy and starving poor 'searching for leftovers in garbage bins,' even the 'middle class,' which does not appear to be in a state of extreme poverty, is experiencing 'hidden poverty': 'They generally have dental problems, housing rental issues, educational expenses, and problems with marrying aging children, etc.' Bahman Ahmadi Amoui, an economic analyst, has also recently published significant research results related to street vending. This journalist reported that currently, there are 300,000 to 500,000 street vendors in Iran; '30% of the street vendors consider street vending their primary job, indicating the depth and peak of the disaster in the economic sector and the inability of people to earn income through official means. About 80% of these individuals are heads of households.' Some economic experts believe that economic inequalities—which are referred to as class divides—have led to the thinning of the middle class and the transformation of society into two major groups of 'haves and have-nots.' Hossein Raghfar, an economist, believes that 40% of the country's population, or about 30 million Iranians, live below the poverty line; their income does not have a reasonable and justifiable relationship with their living expenses—especially in large cities. Based on official data, the ratio of expenses of the top decile (the wealthiest) to the bottom decile (the poorest) is about 14 times, reflecting the quality of inequality in society. The United Nations estimates that the Gini coefficient in Iran has reached about 38 units. The Gini coefficient ranges from zero to 100; the higher this number, the greater the income inequality. The 2015 Human Development Report by the United Nations indicates that Iran ranks 77th among 142 countries surveyed in terms of the Gini coefficient. It is evident that the quality of inequality in expenses and income between unknown billionaires and poor citizens in remote areas of the country or the outskirts of large cities is far more than the average and official 14 times. In a situation where the country is in economic recession and reviving production wheels, amidst heavy sanctions and established political instability, seems a daunting task; during days when the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic is unwilling to issue orders to his major economic subordinates to pay taxes and play an effective role in the 'resistant economy' he envisions; while the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters of the IRGC, the NAJA Cooperative Foundation, and the Astan Quds Razavi and other institutions under the leadership are pursuing their projects and personal profits and the hidden government; at a time when the authoritarian security-military current is opposing the deepening of relations between Tehran and the West and creating obstacles for the moderate government; at a moment when the government must—according to Masoud Nili, the economic advisor to the president—think about creating jobs for the 7 million unemployed, the goal of achieving 700,000 jobs per year does not align with the country's capacities and economic realities; the work of Rouhani and his important supporters and companions (especially Hashemi Rafsanjani) is not easy. The complete attention of Rouhani and Rafsanjani to the free market economy and its requirements and results, and their reliance on foreign investment, if accompanied by negligence towards issues such as class divide and social security and the increasing thinning of underprivileged classes, could lead to potentially disastrous consequences (such as protests by marginalized people in the early 1990s). This is independent of the adverse social-cultural outcomes resulting from unemployment and poverty; social issues and harms such as addiction, divorce, theft, and prostitution, which have reached alarming statistics. The head of the Expediency Discernment Council and the president are compelled to simultaneously devise strategies for increasing production and employment while utilizing all available tools to combat the deepening class divide and also to confront the exploitation of the right-wing populists and extremists from the economic grievances of the underprivileged.