THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 07:30 PM CET
State Media: Iran’s Raisi to Impose Taxes on Poor People
In his administration’s budget for the Persian Year of 1401, the regime’s new president Ebrahim Raisi has not shied away from plundering Iran’s poor people. One of the methods in Raisi’s budget plan is increasing taxes.
Meanwhile according to the state-run Mardom Salarie daily December 13, “Receiving taxes from incomes above 5 million Tomans is included in next year’s budget, while in October it was announced that the poverty line of a family of four has reached 5 million Tomans and more than half of Iranians are in absolute poverty.”
“It is obvious that despite the high inflation, the poverty line will be much higher than 10 million Tomans next year, but the government has decided to tax 10% of the monthly income between 5 and 10 million Tomans,” Mardom Salarie adds.
UPDATE: 06:30 PM CET
Iran State-Affiliated Expert: New Budget Ends in A Socio-economic Collapse
In an article published on the state-run Bahar News, Iranian sociologist Mohammad-Reza Mahboubfar warned about the consequences of the regime’s new budget plan for the New Persian Year of 1401. By referring to Ebrahim Raisi’s decision to eliminate the official exchange rate of a dollar at 42000 rials and a ten-percent rise of workers salaries said: “Undoubtedly, a socio-economic collapse will be inevitable next year.”
“The poverty line will undoubtedly increase with the approval of the 1401 budget, and we will see a poverty line of 25 to 30 million Tomans in the country. This would be the end of economic and social collapse,” he warned.
Iran: Ex-Official Warns Regime of Another Uprising
In an interview with the state-run Eghtesad News, Mohammad Reza Tajik, a former official, expressed the regime’s fear of a social turmoil.
“Iran’s shambled economy will not be integrated by the alignment of several institutions affiliated with the current of power. The current economic problems of our country lie beyond a theoretical space, in the strategic and managerial sector,” he said.
“Rooted weakness in the country’s economic management has created wounds that can not be easily healed, and in the near future, these wounds will cause several riots in the country,” he warned.
UPDATE: 08:30 AM CET
Iran: Coronavirus Death Toll Exceeds 487,400
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) announced on Saturday, December 11, 2021, that the COVID-19 death toll in 547 cities across Iran has exceeded 487,400. In Tehran, the number of victims has reached 114,155, Khorasan Razavi 39,510, Isfahan 33,500, Khuzestan 29,545, Mazandaran 17,760, East Azerbaijan 16,798, Lorestan 16,190, Kurdistan 8,017, Qazvin 5,644, and Ilam 4,658.
MEK Resistance Units Commemorate Student Day in Iran
Seven decades after the Shah regime murdered three student activists in Tehran University on December 7, 1953, the people continue to honor their memory on the anniversary of their death. December 7 has become Iran’s Student Day, in which the people commemorate the role of Iran’s young generation in shaping the country’s future.
On Student’s Day, members of the Resistance Units, the network of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), carried out activities across the country to mark the memory of students who have laid down their lives for the cause of freedom in Iran.
Iran: Upgrading the Police Force in Fear of People’s Protests
To increase repression in the country and counter the people’s protests, the Iranian government has upgraded its police so that it is now able to act independently from the interior ministry and is on a par with the regime’s military and the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
“Before this change, because the NAJA was defined as a law enforcement force, it had a lower organizational status than the army and the IRGC, and by turning it into a general command, it will be at the same level as the army and the Revolutionary Guards.” (State-run news agency Mehr, December 7, 2021)
Iranian Teachers Continued Their Protests for the Second Day in 70 Cities
Iranian teachers continued their protests for the second day on Sunday, December 12, 2021, in more than 70 cities. Their sit-ins and protests are over Iranian teachers’ abysmal living conditions and low wages. The teachers called for the release of imprisoned teachers and educators. They renewed their call to continue the protests on Monday, December 13.
Iran’s Regime Killed Sattar Beheshti, the Son of Gohar Eshghi, and Is Now Trying To Kill Her as Well
On Thursday, December 9, 2021, Gohar Eshghi was attacked by two motorcyclists on her way to her son’s grave. Eshghi was badly wounded and lost consciousness. She was transferred to a hospital for care. Eshghi’s son, Sattar Beheshti, a blogger, was arrested by Iranian authorities in 2012 for publishing anti-regime material. Several days later, Beheshti died under torture in the notorious Evin prison.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – December 12, 2021
