NCRI – The head of the main iron foundry in Ardabil, north-west Iran, has acknowledged that production in his factory has reached record low levels, a situation facing other production centers around the province as well.
“In Ardabil Province some 50 percent of all factories are shut down and the other ones are working at their lowest capacity,” Taqi Bahrami-Nowshahr, managing director of the Ardabil Iron Foundry, on Sunday told the Tasnim news agency, affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force.
“In the past two years, there has been a decrease in production, and the factories and production sites are no longer able to run their workforce,” he said.
Bahrami-Nowshahr pointed out that a lack of funds means that his iron foundry is unable to purchase necessary raw materials for production.
He added that in 2006 the factory was exporting 12,000 tons of product while currently it is unable to sustain its day-to-day operations and has been forced to lay off large numbers of workers.
Bahrami-Nowshahr pointed out that under optimal conditions, the iron foundry in Ardabil could produce 850,000 tons of material annually. “However, sadly, the increase in [economic] problems has meant that currently our annual production is less than 100,000 tons.”
Last month, the Iranian regime’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade acknowledged that some 7000 of Iran’s industrial units are currently inoperative nationwide.
Ali Yazdani, who is also managing director of the state body Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO), said on April 30 that out of 37,120 industrial units situated in industrial townships and areas in Iran, 7,000 have been completely closed down.
The Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, speaking in Mashhad on March 20, said: “There are reports indicating that 60 percent of domestic production resources have either ceased to operate or are functioning below capacity.”
Tasnim reported that on April 9, Arman Khaleqi, a member of the board of directors of the regime’s House of Industry and Mines, said: “Today, in the most optimistic assessment, around 10,000 production units are not working. If we consider that we have 67,000 production units in the country, then we are currently facing 30 percent stagnation.”
Pointing to the fact that 50 percent of the units situated in the industrial townships are working at 25 percent capacity, Khaleqi said: “This shows a severe stagnation in the production units.”
The Iranian regime’s former Minister of Education announced on April 21 that the country’s economy is on the verge of collapse and that not all problems related to the dire economic situation were the byproduct of international sanctions.
Hamidreza Haji-Babai, who in addition to being a minister was a legislator of the regime for 20 years, made the following assessment of the regime’s economy: “We should note that not all the problems are related to the sanctions. Just 30 percent of our problems are due to sanctions and the remaining 70 percent have to do with [mis]management.”
The regime’s First Vice President said in January that the regime is faced with a variety of economic crises which could lead to “threats” against the regime by Iran’s young restive population.
“The country is entangled in a special economic and political situation that demands serious action,” said Eshaq Jahangiri, who is top deputy to the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani. “We are facing three important challenges with unemployment being prominent among them.”
Jahangiri expressed concern about the situation and said, “Iran has a large young population. If we are unable to solve their problems, this opportunity will morph into a threat.”
