The Government's Hand in the People's Pockets

The newspaper Jahan San'at reports in its front page titled "The Government's Hand in the People's Pockets" that the black market for currency is experiencing its hottest days, with rates changing moment by moment. People are lining up outside currency exchange offices, but there is no currency available, and long queues are locked behind closed doors. Exchange offices are facing a shortage of currency resources and cannot withstand rising rates. The presence of people behind closed doors is increasing every day. The newspaper emphasizes that the government supports the increase in currency rates as it serves as a source to compensate for budget deficits, stating that currently, the government has its hand in the people's pockets, and the nation has become a victim of policy. Jahan San'at writes that the exchange boards on Ferdowsi Street have become non-functional and cannot cover the high market rates. On the first day of Bahman, the dollar rate suddenly increased by 140 tomans. The last recorded rate on these trading boards was around 4700 tomans, which has fluctuated momentarily into the 4600 tomans range, indicating a 6.7% increase in the dollar rate over a month. The newspaper emphasizes that what is strange is that officials do not react specifically to these increases and only make baseless statements, which itself fuels further market unrest. The head of the Central Bank has repeatedly stated that these rate increases are natural and that rates will soon decrease, but what is observed in the market does not align with what the head of the Central Bank states. Jahan San'at also recalls that to control the rising rates, the police, in coordination with the Central Bank, began operations to seal the offices of currency exchange intermediaries last week, and these days, controlling market rates by dealing with market messengers responsible for the movement and determination of currency rates is also on the agenda. However, it seems these actions do not have the ability to rein in rates, and prices continue to rise. This scenario also occurred last year at this time; last year, the currency rate became multi-tiered in the market, causing an unprecedented rise, and at that time, government officials promised that the dollar price would decrease, but this did not happen, and the currency rate did not drop as much as it had surged. Now it must be said that rates will not return to their initial levels at all, and it is better for the government to prevent further increases in rates. The newspaper Etemad reports in its front page that economist Hossein Raghfar described the announcement of a "national poverty line of 700,000 tomans" by Ahmad Midari, Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, as "700,000 tomans for mere survival" and stated: "I do not think anyone can provide 2,000 kilocalories according to nutritional standards in 1997 with this amount, and probably with this money, one can only be filled with bread." Ahmad Midari had previously stated in an interview on January 17 that to reach the national poverty figure, a specific formula was considered, whereby severe poverty or the national poverty line is derived from the multiplication of each household's food costs, averaging around 700,000 tomans for a household of 3 to 5 people. However, Hossein Raghfar, a university professor and poverty researcher in the field of social welfare, criticized the statements of the Deputy Minister of Labor and questioned the meaning of the "national poverty line," stating: "This figure does not even indicate the line of survival. I believe what he means by the poverty line is the minimum caloric needs of a person to survive. With this amount, one might be able to buy minimal food that one person - not a family - needs to survive. This figure, when calculated in terms of the average number of households, is recognized as the severe poverty line. Naturally, if a person earns less than 700,000 tomans a month, they will face hunger. Therefore, this figure represents the hunger threshold for one person and is different from the severe poverty line that is calculated for a family. Families certainly cannot live on this amount, and "probably with this money, one can only be filled with bread." This researcher also stated: "We do not have a national poverty line. The national poverty line - if such a thing can be imagined - is a figure that can be applicable across the country. This issue may be applicable in countries where their economy does not suffer from urban-rural duality and has a kind of homogeneity among different economic points, but in Iran, prices differ in urban and rural areas, and even within urban areas, there are significant differences, and there is no uniformity even among villages. Announcing a national poverty line is meaningless, and perhaps what he meant by announcing this figure was the average poverty line of the country, which also does not make sense given the 700,000 tomans figure announced for households and not for an individual." The newspaper Shargh reports that on February 8, which is next Sunday, several members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly will visit Evin Prison, although it is for a tour, and regarding which representatives will be present at this visit, quoting Allahyar Malekshahi, the head of the Judicial Commission of the Assembly, wrote: "I, as the head of the delegation, along with Mr. Mohammad Kazemi, Mohammad Dehghani, Mohammad Javad Fathi, Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, and Mohammad Ali Vakili, will go to Evin next Sunday," and "the names of two or three members of the National Security Commission will also be added to this group." Hassan Norouzi, spokesperson for the Judicial Commission of the 10th Assembly, who three days ago spoke about the deaths of some detainees during protests while in custody, said, "They have died from guilt," and is another representative who will be present at the visit to Evin. He told the Shargh newspaper that "he is among the visitors to Evin." Hussein Naqavi Hosseini, spokesperson for the National Security Commission of the Assembly, also expressed ignorance about the names of this commission for the visit to Evin, stating: "No decision has been made in this regard yet, and if such a decision is to be made, it will be determined in the National Security Commission meeting on Tuesday." Shargh reminds that since the occurrence of nationwide protests in various cities of Iran, "numerous requests from the Assembly for a visit to Evin have been made, which so far has only been approved for the request of the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Assembly, and according to Qasem Mirzaei Neko, a member of the Hope faction, the Ministry of Justice or the Judiciary has not yet responded to the request of Mahmoud Sadeghi and other representatives who requested a visit to Evin." The newspaper Khorasan also wrote about this, stating: "While various commissions and members of different factions of the Assembly, especially the Hope faction, have been pursuing a visit to Evin Prison for some time, yesterday the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly announced the Prosecutor's Office's agreement to carry out this visit. Simultaneously, the spokesperson for the Legal and Judicial Commission of the Assembly also announced that the time for this visit will be next Sunday, February 8." According to this newspaper, Allahyar Malekshahi, head of the Judicial Commission of the Assembly, stated that "the presence in the delegation is limited to members of the Judicial Commission," and "members of other commissions can independently request a visit from the Judicial Commission." The newspaper Khorasan quoted Ali Motahari as saying: "Currently, the discussion of visiting Evin Prison and investigating the individual who committed suicide is ongoing; it is necessary to conduct further investigations regarding the number of suicides, and it would not be bad to extend the visit to Evin to the entire country and investigate all individuals who are said to have committed suicide in the recent events in the country's prisons to eliminate propaganda and doubts." This newspaper quoted Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the Hope faction of the 10th Assembly, regarding "the representatives' visit to Evin Prison and meeting with the detainees of the recent protests," stating: "A working group has been formed in the faction, and at the same time, we are still pursuing the issue to reach a conclusion." According to this newspaper, Ali Nobakht, head of the Health and Treatment Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also referred to his request from the Speaker of the Assembly for the members of the Health and Treatment Commission to participate in the fact-finding committee regarding the recent events, stating: "Since I felt that decision-making in this regard might be outside the jurisdiction of the head of the Judicial Commission, I submitted my request in a separate letter to the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly." Ali Nobakht emphasized the necessity of visiting Evin Prison, stating: "This visit must take place, and the reality is that if the Assembly cannot conduct such a visit, it is not an Assembly." The newspaper Iran, close to the government, reported: "Eleven days after the President's order to the Minister of Interior, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli announced on Sunday that following this order, a detailed report on the recent events and unrest has been presented to the President." According to this newspaper, the Minister of Interior did not refer to the details of the report submitted to the President, but "from the Minister's remarks, it appears that the roots and contexts of the unrest and suggestions to prevent the recurrence of these events are the main themes of the report. Since the text and content of this report have not been published, it is unclear what other details requested by the President, such as arrests, injuries, or fatalities in the recent events, the Ministry of Interior's report contains in terms of points, details, or preventive strategies." The newspaper Iran wrote: "One of the controversial topics regarding the recent protests has been the roots and contexts of these events. While some figures and currents consider foreign factors to be the root of these events, government officials and also reformist figures and supporters of the government believe that the existing structural problems in the country are the root of the protests." Amir Khajasteh, a representative of the 10th Assembly, in an interview with the newspaper Aseman Abid, regarding "the reason for the entry of military and security institutions and entities such as education into the banking sector" and the future of these activities, stated: "A path has already been opened, and everyone has entered this field. Our effort is to collect these, and we have achieved some results. These institutions must be merged into state banks that have support and strict oversight over them. It is not acceptable for anyone to form a team and group and do whatever they want." This representative of the 10th Assembly stated: "The people should be assured that their representatives in the faction will not delay for a moment, and no one here will infringe upon the rights of the people; because a dirty cloth cannot clean a dirty glass, and someone who becomes contaminated cannot eliminate the contamination. Officials must answer. When we speak, heavy propaganda attacks occur, and factors have been hired to engage in destruction and threats, but these tools are no longer effective, and their time has passed, and we will announce in due time who is responsible for these actions. In the discussion of banks and financial and credit institutions, I, as the head of the faction, want results; they must inform us what reforms have been made and where. We demand that banks, customs, the Martyrs Foundation, Bank Day, Bank Sarmayeh, etc., tell us what actions they have taken. Otherwise, we will tighten our oversight mechanisms for organizations that have corruption. Amir Khajasteh told the newspaper Aseman Abid: "I urge the people that if they have any information in this regard, they should register it accurately along with documents on the faction's website, and be assured that necessary actions will be taken. Fortunately, the judiciary has also devised very good measures in this regard. It is better to execute the leaders of economic corruption after the verdict is issued in Freedom Square to serve as a lesson for others. My request is that the execution of the plunderers of public assets should be among the top priorities of the system so that others know that the judiciary, the government, and the Assembly are fulfilling their supervisory duties. I also ask all officials to clear themselves and rid their surroundings of economic corruptors. This purity must exist among the officials of the three branches and the leaders of the system so that we can deal more strongly and powerfully with those below." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported in a report titled "The Air of Khuzestan in Suspension" that the news of the budget elimination for combating dust in Khuzestan reached the residents of this province on Sunday while dust was disrupting their lives. According to this newspaper, on Sunday, "while apart from Ahvaz, the air quality index of Khorramabad, Sanandaj, Ilam, and Bushehr also exceeded 300 and was declared dangerous, the people of Khuzestan faced the news of budget elimination. However, it did not take long for them to deny the news and say it was a suspension, not an elimination." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported this budget as 150 million dollars and stated that the government had proposed 150 million dollars in the budget bill to combat dust in Khuzestan province, but it was eliminated in the Joint Commission of the Assembly. However, Gholamreza Shariati, the governor of Khuzestan, denied it and stated: "Contrary to the statements made, the budget for combating dust in the southern country has not been eliminated from the 97 budget bill," but rather "allocation from the National Development Fund requires permission and going through a series of administrative formalities, and the government and the Assembly are seriously pursuing this issue to resolve it, and the people of Khuzestan should not worry." The newspaper Bahar also referred to the news of the "elimination of the budget for combating dust" as "strange news during the polluted days in Khuzestan" and quoted Mohammad Kianoush Rad, a representative from Ahvaz in the sixth Assembly, as saying: "The elimination of the 150 million dollar budget for combating dust from the government bill in the Assembly is a disaster. With negligence in combating dust, the country will be engulfed in dust." Mohammad Kianoush Rad stated that the dust crisis is like Saddam's missile attacks; no one will care until the dust reaches Tehran.