Iran’s state-run media in recent days have warned the authorities of what they call “people’s mistrust,” “violence,” and “rage.” In other words, by counting economic and social hardships, they acknowledge public hatred toward the regime and an inevitable uprising.
While the regime continues funding terrorist groups and pursuing its ballistic missile program, Iranians, especially workers, are grappling with poverty.
“[Official] estimates indicate 7 to 9 million tomans as the rate of the living basket. But years of experience has shown that finally, these numbers stay on paper, and the final salary [of worker] has a long-distance with reality,” wrote the state-run Hamdeli daily on January 31.
“While the poverty line has reached 10 million tomans, the wages of the weakest sections of society are still around two-and-a-half million. So, the gap between living conditions and inflation has become more critical, especially this year,” Hamdeli added.
The regime and its apologists have been trying to blame United States sanctions for Iran’s economic crisis. With the new administration in power in the U.S., some Iranian officials and all the regime’s apologists spread the false notion that Iran’s financial knot will be untied. Yet, the state-run media acknowledge the opposite.
“Those who think that a change of president in the United States will bring about a fundamental change in Iran’s economy are far too optimistic. The root of Iran’s economic problems lies more in domestic politics than in international ones. There is a center of economic corruption in the country, [which is Iran’s] real economic problem,” wrote the state-run Arman daily on January 27.
However, the Iranian people identify the regime as the real source of their miseries, mainly the economic crisis. State-run media call people’s hatred of the regime “mistrust.”
“It is safe to say above 80 to 90 percent of people do not have trust [in the regime],” wrote the state-run Aftab-e Yazd daily on Sunday.
“This mistrust originated from domestic policy makings and when authorities refused to fulfill their promises. People cannot trust officials’ disorganization and believe their words,” Aftab-e Yazd added.
On Saturday, the regime’s vice-president, Eshagh Jahangiri, went to the Khomeini Port in southwest Iran. Locals protested his presence, and videos showed people shouting at him.
The state-run Vatan-e Emrooz daily on Sunday acknowledged that “people’s protests when they meet officials have become a habit.”
“Certainly, the point that we should not ignore is the accumulation of anger that has arisen among the people, especially in deprived and remote areas. There have been several examples in recent months that should be taken seriously as warnings,” Vatan-e Emrooz added.
“The [regime’s] method of managing the society is one of the reasons of increasing anger in the society. In a society where there is a lot of conflict in terms of management between officials, tensions spread to people, resulting in increased rage in society,” wrote the state-run Resalat daily on Sunday.
“Economic pressure causes people to spend a lot of energy to earn a living. When survival is at stake, it is natural for people to develop sensitivity and reactivity. An example of a reaction can be rage,” Resalat added, underlining how people see the regime as the root of their problems.
Two major Iran protests in 2018 and 2019 erupted due to economic problems. But people quickly targeted the regime in their slogans and identified the mullahs’ entire corrupted apparatus as the real reason for Iran’s economic and social crisis.
The regime killed over 1500 protesters in the November 2019 uprising, oppressing the society. But the social hatred has stayed like a fire beneath the ashes inside Iran. The ongoing economic and social crisis, coupled with the regime’s corruption, has increased society’s restiveness.
As the Mostaghel daily wrote on January 27, the regime’s officials should be “afraid of the day when people get fed up and come for you.” That day is not too far.
