More than a dozen Iranian cities have seen protests in recent days as a result of rising prices. People quickly chanted slogans against officials such as the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his president Ebrahim Raisi, because they are aware of the regime’s role in creating and worsening their economic woes.
The Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated on January 25, 2016, emphasized that if these protests are not stopped the “enemy will enter the country” and “we will have to fight and stop them here in Kermanshah, Hamedan, and other provinces!”
On Monday, May 16, Mike Pompeo, the 70th United States Secretary of State, visited Ashraf 3, which is home to thousands of members of the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Manz, Albania. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
On March 21, senior regime officials in Iran began the Persian calendar year with promises to address the country’s economic woes. To date, we have seen nothing of the sort, and Iran’s financial woes are growing at an unprecedented rate. On the same day, regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said, “throwing money here and there will solve nothing.”Ebrahim Raisi, the regime’s president, claimed to have performed “economic surgery” to bring rising inflation under control.
In Iranian state media, whitewashing regime crimes, repeating anti-western rhetoric, demonizing the opposition, and downplaying social and economic crises have all been common themes. However, Iran’s volatile society has forced the regime’s sprawling disinformation factory to acknowledge reality.
Iran’s regime president, Ebrahim Raisi, stated on April 8 that revoking the country’s subsidized currency exchange rate will not cause an economic setback. Rising inflation and skyrocketing prices have left tens of millions of people unable to purchase basic necessities, including bread, less than a month later.
Despite repressive measures and widespread arrests, the enraged people of Shahrekord continued their protests on Sunday evening, May 16, the fifth day of the uprising against unbridled price hikes. Repressive forces fired tear gas and opened fire on the demonstrators, however, people continued to demonstrate, chanting, “have no fear, we’re all in this together.” The regime has disabled Internet access in the city.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) held a press conference in Paris on Friday, May 13, releasing for the first time the names and photographs of over 33,000 officials, interrogators, torturers, and executioners in Iran’s Prisons Organization.
Following the Iranian regime’s decision to raise the price of flour and remove subsidized bread from the shelves, observers in Iran believe that nationwide protests will soon take place. Even before his government’s first anniversary, President Ebrahim Raisi has broken promises about ‘eliminating absolute poverty,’ ‘constructing one million homes,’ and ‘supporting the underprivileged.’
Hossein Marashi, the Secretary-General of Executives of the Construction Party and a former MP from Kerman province, acknowledged the Iranian people’s growing hatred and fury against the Iranian regime in an interview with the ILNA news agency on May 2.” I told Mr. President [Ebrahim Raisi], ‘Your success is our wish…'” he said.
