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While Iran regime’s Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref boasts that “we will not let anyone play with the people’s livelihood,” the reality across Iran tells a different story. A report by the state-run daily Khorasan on September 30, 2025, and new revelations from Tabnak on October 4 expose the grim truth: the Iranian people’s dinner tables are not being toyed with — they are being burned by the flames of corruption and inflation.
In Mashhad’s markets, prices continue to skyrocket beyond the reach of working families. Beef has reached 930,000 tomans per kilo, lamb around 890,000, and even basic items like rice and poultry have become luxury goods. Pakistani rice, once a staple in many households, now sells for up to 200,000 tomans per kilo — if it can be found at all. The official government price, set at 66,000 tomans, exists only on paper.
Merchants say shortages are deliberate. “Nothing special has happened,” one grocer told Khorasan sarcastically. “Pakistani rice has just become rare.” In reality, it is a symptom of a deeper disease — a food system hijacked by a handful of regime-linked monopolies who control the import and distribution of essential goods.
#Iran’s Command Economics, Corruption and the Costs of Isolationhttps://t.co/CznquZG67y
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 5, 2025
A Web of Regime-Backed Corruption
According to Tabnak, three powerful business families — the Modallal, Fazli (Golrang Group), and Paydari (Mihan) networks — have received billions in subsidized dollars through “official” exchange rates (28,500 IRR/USD) to import food staples and raw materials. But much of these funds have either vanished or been used to manipulate markets, pushing prices beyond the reach of ordinary Iranians.
- The Modallal Family — The “Feed and Oil Kings”
The Modallal empire, which dominates animal feed and edible oil imports, has long been accused of using political connections to corner the market. Their company Mahidasht Agro-Industry of Kermanshah received $511 million in subsidized currency, while another subsidiary, Ava Tejarat Saba, took $290 million — despite a previous scandal over unfulfilled import obligations worth €31.5 million.
The family’s firms now control nearly half of Iran’s corn import operations, a monopoly that has devastated domestic producers and driven up food costs nationwide.
- The Fazli Family — Golrang Group and “Ofogh Kourosh”
The Golrang Group, known for its Ofogh Kourosh retail chain and brands such as Oila and Famila, is among the top ten recipients of state-subsidized currency for “essential imports.” Yet, according to Tabnak, it has repeatedly failed to meet its import commitments, raising serious questions about where the funds have gone. Despite previous violations recorded by the Central Bank, the group continues to receive vast allocations, highlighting regime complicity in shielding corporate allies.
- The Paydari Family — Mihan’s Hidden Empire
Best known for Mihan Ice Cream, Ayoub Paydari’s conglomerate extends far beyond dairy. His firm Tabiat Sabz Mihan received $127 million in government currency to import rice — yet the promised imports either never arrived or were sold at triple the market price. By restricting supply and flooding the market selectively, the group fueled panic and reaped massive profits.
Record $3.7B Embezzlement Scandal Shakes #Iran’s Tea Industry, Revealing Deep #Corruption and Production Consequenceshttps://t.co/9FaxkCSvFj
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 6, 2023
Plundering a Nation’s Food Supply
Tabnak’s findings confirm what many Iranians already know: the food of 80 million people has been placed at the mercy of a few regime-backed oligarchs. Despite repeated financial violations and unpaid debts — including a 5 trillion rial bank default by Saman Modallal — these families remain at the top of the government’s list for subsidized foreign currency allocations.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Agriculture continue to approve these transactions, ignoring public outrage. The result is a national food crisis: shortages, soaring prices, and growing hunger.
#Iran News: #Crypto Mining Farm Discovered in Ahvaz Stadium Tunnels Exposes Deepening Corruption in Regime Institutionshttps://t.co/68EfJYuXvD
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 11, 2025
A Nation Pushed to the Brink
Ordinary Iranians face the direct consequences of this corruption. Market shelves in Mashhad and across the country are emptier each week, as inflation devours wages and families cut back on essentials. Calls to officials go unanswered, and the regime’s silence underscores its inability — or unwillingness — to confront its own web of economic plunder.
The recent reactivation of the UN “snapback mechanism” and the ensuing fall of the rial have further deepened the crisis. Every attempt by the regime to control the economy has backfired, worsening the suffering of millions.
But amid despair, a clear message resonates across the country: a regime that sets fire to the people’s tables cannot survive the flames it has ignited. The Iranian people, long oppressed yet unbroken, will rise from the ashes of hunger and poverty to reclaim their freedom and dignity.