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Iran’s spiraling economic and energy crises have laid bare the fragility of the regime, with top officials admitting to deep-seated failures while attempting to deflect responsibility for the worsening situation. In an alarming interview on state television on December 2, Masoud Pezeshkian, the regime’s president, acknowledged the severity of the crisis while indirectly blaming prior administrations for the country’s economic mismanagement. Pezeshkian warned of inevitable price hikes, including for gasoline, while expressing fears of the public backlash that could follow.
“We are grappling with severe imbalances—in gas, electricity, water, energy, and even the environment. These imbalances have reached a level that could lead to widespread crisis,” said Pezeshkian. He admitted to fuel prices that the government has no choice but to raise them. “We are importing expensive gasoline and selling it at a fraction of its cost. No expert, domestic or international, would endorse this system,” he said, adding, “Without these price adjustments, we cannot pay retirees, wheat farmers, or even government employees.”
Responding to a question on the potential for increased gasoline prices in 2024, Pezeshkian conceded, “Gasoline will become more expensive because the resources to subsidize imports are simply not there. We face a stark reality: either we raise prices or we fail to keep essential services running. Yet, this decision carries risks that I dread to even imagine.”
#Iran News:
Economy Plunges as Rial Hits Record Low and #StockMarket Suffers Sharp Declinehttps://t.co/7o6WlZsO10— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 20, 2024
In the same interview, Pezeshkian admitted the regime’s failure to meet basic needs, saying, “For five consecutive years, we’ve faced inflation at 40 percent. This is a catastrophe. Power plants cannot meet demand, and our oil and gas reserves are depleting. If these imbalances are not addressed, the nation will face an uncontrollable collapse.”
The issue of gasoline prices has turned into a political hot potato between Iran’s Parliament and the government. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Parliament, said on December 3, “The government has the authority to adjust fuel prices, as per previous legislation. If they had gradually implemented this, we wouldn’t be facing today’s challenges.” Ghalibaf added, “Let the government do its job. Parliament is not intervening in this matter.”
Amid these admissions, other officials have been vocal about the crises gripping various sectors. Former Agriculture Minister Issa Kalantari pointed to skyrocketing food prices, particularly red meat, which he claimed is now four times the global average due to Iran’s volatile currency. Also, Farshad Momeni, a state-affiliated economist, confirmed: “More than half of Iranians cannot meet their daily caloric needs. Over 50 percent fall below this threshold!”
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Healthcare has also been hit hard. Alireza Chizari, head of Iran’s Medical Equipment Association, warned that the removal of subsidies has driven up the cost of life-saving medical devices by as much as fifteen times. “A cardiac stent that once cost 200,000 tomans now costs 2 million tomans. This is devastating for ordinary citizens who cannot afford such price increases,” Chizari said. He also noted that insurance schemes fail to cover these soaring costs, leaving patients to shoulder the burden.
“In effect, the removal of preferential currency subsidies for medical and pharmaceutical equipment is tantamount to condemning patients to a slow death,” Chizari said. “This decision not only endangers public health but also delivers a severe blow to the country’s health economy. It could lead to the closure of numerous medical centers and widespread unemployment among healthcare staff.”
Vahid Shaqaqi, another economist, added to the grim outlook, criticizing the reliance on speculative budgets based on unrealistically high oil revenues. “With Trump potentially returning to power, Iran cannot count on stable oil exports. If sanctions tighten again, we could see oil exports drop to a fraction of what they are now. The government’s revenue projections are pure fantasy,” Shaqaqi warned.
Watch and judge how #IranRevolution has forced a former regime insider openly admitting to losing faith and quitting. pic.twitter.com/6s1jmn3BW2
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 2, 2023
Meanwhile, oil and energy experts highlighted Iran’s declining significance in global markets. “If all of Iran’s oil were cut off from global markets, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait could compensate for this amount with their surplus production, and it wouldn’t cause much of a disruption worldwide,” said oil expert Morteza Behroozifar. “We were once a country producing nearly 7 million barrels of oil per day, of which 4.5 million barrels were exported, and global oil consumption was much lower than it is today. But now, our export of 1 million barrels per day is insignificant compared to the world’s daily consumption of 100 million barrels.”
Compounding these economic struggles is the shocking revelation that Iran’s cancer rates are now double the global average. Analysts attribute this health crisis to years of government negligence, with resources diverted away from public welfare and healthcare into proxy wars and regional adventurism. The state-run Ruydad24 described the nation as teetering on the edge of collapse: “The country is on the brink of social, economic, and political disintegration. It highlighted years of mismanagement and policy failures as key contributors to the current crisis, cautioning that the country’s precarious state could lead to disastrous consequences if further strain is placed on the system.
