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The economic crises and the danger of sparking social upheavals have escalated tensions between Ebrahim Raisi’s government and a parliament, which was tightly vetted by the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in 2020.
For decades within the Iranian regime, the power struggle among different factions has centered not on management styles but on preserving governance and averting overthrow. Reports from state media indicate that Sunday’s parliamentary session was characterized by tension.
Moeinoddin Saeedi, a member of parliament, said on April 28, “Mr. President, do you recall your remark that it’s a shame you didn’t take office to prevent the dollar from reaching 5,000 tomans? Instead of irrelevant economic statistics, consider the current 67,000-toman exchange rate and the crippling inflation affecting internet costs, meat prices, and medicine.”
Mohammad-Saleh Jokar, another member of the regime’s parliament, also said, “Those of you in the government, where have you been for the past three years? How much have we demanded the bill, and why haven’t you provided it? Why didn’t previous governments provide the bill? And now you come here today and dare to discuss the bill from this podium?”
Watch and judge how #IranRevolution has intensified internal strife in the #Iranian regime pic.twitter.com/arCJuckShF
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 24, 2023
On the other hand, the newspaper “Iran” slammed the parliamentary Research Center, labeling them as “incompetent,” “Trumpophobic,” and holding “fantasy opinions.” The Daily, considered an official government organ, stated that the parliament’s Research Center is “biased” in its reports and is taking sides.
The Iran newspaper accused the head of the parliament’s Research Center of making “Trumpophobic” remarks and stated, “inflammatory and irresponsible statements by some MPs and sending negative signals to the currency market in recent days have turned into headlines in profiteering Telegram channels.”
The newspaper claimed that despite all the ongoing international developments, the Raisi government managed to “bring the dollar down” and “document a defensible record in this regard.”
Meanwhile, Ali Rabiei, the former government spokesman during Hassan Rouhani’s tenure, also weighed in on the dispute between the Raisi administration and parliament, implying that the government has ignored parliament’s warnings. According to Rabiei, the parliament’s Research Center has recently been publishing various reports on economic crises, which contradict the claims of government officials and Ebrahim Raisi.
Watch and judge how #IranRevolution has intensified internal strife in the #Iranian regime pic.twitter.com/arCJuckShF
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 24, 2023
The publication of various negative reports, questioning Raisi’s currency policies, depicting poverty, criticizing the health ministry, and the consequences of drug shortages among other issues has led to a clash between the branches of power.
But beyond the factional feud, these reports practically undermine Khamenei’s claims who have repeatedly praised Raisi for taking “impactful actions” in the country, assessing economic and social indicators towards increasing public welfare and accessibility. Yet, the statistics continuously announced by government authorities have faced skepticism from state-affiliated analysts and in many cases, the government has been accused of manipulating statistics and altering indicators to “fabricate success“.
Numerous outlets aligned with factions sidelined from power assert that despite electoral promises and Khamenei’s blessing, the Raisi administration has not only struggled to curb inflation but has also surpassed an 80-year record for inflation rates, hovering over 50 percent. The “Ham-Mihan” newspaper tackled this issue in a report, highlighting that the documented inflation levels in Iran’s economy from 1943 until now have reached unprecedented heights.
Yet, despite the exposure that stems from internal feud and the abundance of negative reports in state media, many economic experts emphasize that even the high statistics acknowledged by these outlets are an understated assessment, suggesting that the actual situation is even more severe.