{"id":332719,"date":"2025-06-08T21:09:38","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T20:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=332719"},"modified":"2025-06-09T08:49:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T07:49:46","slug":"a-nation-on-the-brink-irans-economy-nears-total-breakdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/economy\/a-nation-on-the-brink-irans-economy-nears-total-breakdown\/","title":{"rendered":"A Nation on the Brink: Iran\u2019s Economy Nears Total Breakdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Iran-economy\"<\/p>\n

Four-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The economic collapse in Iran has reached such critical depths that even experts affiliated with the regime now openly acknowledge its severity in state-controlled publications. In a recent article, regime-linked economist Masoud Nili and sociologist Mohammad Fazeli addressed the unraveling of state functionality. Both point to a shared conclusion: Iran is facing a profound crisis of governance, not simply due to mismanagement, but because of the regime\u2019s fundamental inability to address the mounting \u201cmega-challenges\u201d confronting the nation.<\/p>\n

The Disrupted Governance Chain<\/h2>\n

Masoud Nili\u2019s analysis centers on what he terms a \u201cstate crisis\u201d\u2014a condition marked by the disruption of the \u201cgovernance value chain.\u201d He argues that Iran\u2019s economic dysfunction runs far deeper than its foreign policy challenges, such as the nuclear standoff or international sanctions<\/a>. Even if those issues were resolved, he contends, the structural problems of the Iranian economy would persist due to the absence of intellectual consensus and coherent economic strategy.<\/p>\n

A key part of Nili\u2019s argument<\/a> is that disagreements among Iranian economists, particularly between institutionalists and free-market advocates, have paralyzed policymaking. These theoretical rifts, he claims, have enabled politicians to evade tough structural reforms in favor of unrealistic, ideologically driven policies. He criticizes institutionalist economists for promoting a \u201cfantasy world\u201d in which complex issues like corruption, energy overconsumption, or the water crisis can be resolved without engaging in price reforms or market rationalization.<\/p>\n

Drawing on his experience as an economic advisor during Hassan Rouhani\u2019s presidency, Nili laments that his efforts to build consensus through economic conferences and reform roadmaps ultimately failed. He attributes this failure to the opacity and dysfunction of Iran\u2019s decision-making apparatus, referring to it as a system driven by \u201cclosed rooms\u201d and non-transparent institutions. This diagnosis exposes a core paradox: while technocrats may propose rational, science-based economic policies, the political structure renders these proposals unimplementable.<\/p>\n

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#Iran<\/a>\u2019s Economic Crisis Isn\u2019t a Mystery\u2014It\u2019s the Regime\u2019s Legacyhttps:\/\/t.co\/yTq2D6gXgt<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n