First Deputy of Pezeshkian Reports a 'One Quadrillion Tomans' Budget Deficit in the First Half of the Year

The First Deputy of Pezeshkian, referring to the dire economic conditions and budget deficit, reported a one quadrillion tomans deficit in the first six months of the year, stating that last year 'our trade balance was negative by 17 billion dollars.' Mohammad Reza Aref said today, Saturday, September 24, at the conference of university presidents that 'we are facing imbalances in various sectors, and this is a very serious issue.' According to some experts and critics, Aref's remarks align with the government's intended 'economic reforms and surgery' that Massoud Pezeshkian has been tasked with implementing. The mentioned one quadrillion tomans deficit is a warning sign for people's livelihoods, as analysts believe the government will respond by increasing prices and reducing gasoline quotas, as well as raising the prices of other energy carriers to compensate for it. In this context, the government has recently increased the price of bread in various provinces, starting with a 25% increase in most provinces and ultimately reaching 66% in Tehran. In the gasoline sector, Pezeshkian and his cabinet members have repeatedly emphasized the necessity of price reform in recent months, and critics believe that Iranian media, regardless of any bias, have taken on the mission of creating a psychological groundwork for this action. The increase in water and electricity prices is another issue that experts say is the government's next step; an action that the Ministry of Energy has currently remained silent about, but the CEO of Tavanir has stated regarding electricity, 'For now, we will not increase electricity prices this year.' However, the increase in electricity prices has been indirectly applied through the consumption coefficient table in household and industrial electricity bills. Ahmad Alavi: The electricity shortage in Iran is due to severe budget deficits and lack of investment. Unpaid demands of wheat farmers; protests by farmers in eastern Isfahan continue. The budget deficit has put the 25% increase in bread prices on the agenda. The classification of Iranians is changing, and the shadow of poverty looms over the country. The retirement of 72,000 teachers and a shortage of 176,000 educators in the new school year. A 100 billion tomans budget from the Ministry of Interior for 'supporting' the Arbaeen pilgrimage; billion-dollar expenses for propaganda purposes.