A Tehran youngster after his death speaks about the economic desperation of the country’s cradle for a future: Why Iran cannot afford a rent, even a car?

Her death was the spark that ignited months of protests. They felt like they were in economic desperation. Most IraniansNPR spoke with this month mentioned the moribund economy and fervent supporters of the theocratic regime.

Educated young Iranians are unable to find jobs that match their degrees. The graduate of an architecture firm sells clothes at the Tehran mall. Most of his classmates from engineering school are working as shop clerks or taxi drivers, he said. (Like other Iranians interviewed for this article, he asked that his last name not be used for fear of retribution.)

He said he could not imagine ever renting an apartment, buying a car, or having children because he couldn’t afford rent.

Mahsa Amini’s Morality Police Reveals Iran’s Inflation: Why Do Investors Don’t Go Business in Iran?

Prices for just about everything in Iran have surged. The convenience store worker told me he only had money for a coffee. I do not have money for the things that I need.

She summed it up by saying, “We have a nice saying in Iran.” We say that the first 100 years of life are difficult. The rest will be easy.

It’s been more than five months since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She had been detained after the so-called morality police accused her of wearing improper attire, or not covering her hair.

The Iranian government brutally responded to the protests and killed hundreds of people and imprisoned thousands more. The crackdown has successfully scared many protesters off the streets. Iran’s economic troubles continue to feed discontent. Because of the risks associated with speaking critically about the government, many of those interviewed spoke on the condition that they not be identified by name.

Iran’s inflation is caused by corruption at state-owned banks and how much money the government prints to spend, according to him. And he said investors are afraid to do business in Iran because the government has a history of seizing companies.

Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2023/02/27/1157637715/iran-mahsa-amini-morality-police-protests-economy-rial

Iran is a minimal society, police protests, and economy rial: how the U.S. sanctions are taking a toll on the Iranian people

A car? A house? Starting a family? He felt like it was out of reach. It is not going to happen, that is what it is for us. I can only imagine it, but I can’t afford it.

“The materials are foreign. The silk is from China. The merino wool is from Australia,” he said. All of it is more expensive for him, thanks to a weakened rial.

The sanctions are next. The US imposed a ban on the import of carpets from Iran, after it withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement. A dealer in Tehran said that 70% of his carpets used to be sold to customers outside Iran. Now, it’s more like 10% — mostly Chinese or Russians, who are not bound by U.S. or European sanctions.

Some held the U.S. responsible. “We’re under the boots of America,” said a 75-year-old man selling old camera parts on a sidewalk in Tehran. “These terrible sanctions are making life hard for everyone.”

He said that America has never done anything for him or us. So, if we want to do something, we have to do something for ourselves.”

“The Iranian regime likes to use the U.S. as a scapegoat, but all of the pain in our streets comes directly from mismanagement,” said the economist.

U.S. sanctions are taking a measurable bite in one area: oil exports. According to some estimates, the extensive web of restrictions that snapped back into place when the Trump White House abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018 has cut Iran’s oil revenues by half.

The government used to inject oil income into society in order to reduce wasteful spending and economic productivity.

Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2023/02/27/1157637715/iran-mahsa-amini-morality-police-protests-economy-rial

The Iranian political and economic frustrations: from Mahsa Amini to protests in the face of a renegotiated nuclear deal with the world powers

Iran and world powers have been negotiating to revive the nuclear deal by lifting sanctions in return for Iran capping its nuclear development — but talks have stalled.

According to Ali Vaez, an Iran analyst with the International Crisis Group, the mix of economic and political discontent in Iran was aticking time bomb.

“If it wasn’t because of Mahsa Amini’s tragic death, there would have been another trigger,” he said. He said there was a lot of frustration in the Iranian society.

Vaez said that the miserable economy — which he blames on mismanagement, corruption and sanctions — may also be why, in parts of the country, this round of protests has waned in the face of the regime’s crackdown.

“People have very little cushion to be able to engage in a long-term confrontation between the state and the society,” he said. Particularly since the protesters are “armed with nothing but their bravery.”

Some Iranians who spoke with NPR were optimistic that the protests may achieve change even if daily life at the moment felt impossible.