Economists Warn Government, Kayhan Responds to Economists

After sixty-one economic experts in Iran warned the head of government about inflation reaching three digits in Iran, the editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper wrote in his newspaper today, June 23, that these economists are attempting to question the government’s efforts.On Saturday, June 21, a letter signed by 61 university economics professors in Iran was published, in which the signatories, pointing to the continuously rising prices of essential goods and record-breaking dollar exchange rates in Iran, warned about the consequences of the government’s economic surgery.

This group of economists attributed the roots of Iran’s economic problems to non-economic factors and declared that the country’s economic reforms depend on political openings and a more open governance environment. They stated that the Ibrahim Raisi government’s policy of so-called “economic surgery” was executed very hastily and without proper preparations, serving only as a temporary measure to solve the urgent budget deficit problem.

Hosein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper and the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic at this newspaper, however, in a note sharply criticized the 61 critical economists and accused them of echoing the enemy, writing: “Why does the text of the letter, with the stated motivation of the Agency resolution, namely demoralizing the nation and questioning the government’s efforts, have an undeniable harmony?”

Shariatmadari also asked relevant centers and institutions not to easily and naively overlook such occurrences.

The correspondence of economic experts with heads of government in the Islamic Republic is unprecedented.

During the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 60 economists also sent a letter to the president about his economic decisions, warning about inflation increase and the spread of poverty in Iran, but instead of reforming the existing structure, the government became angry with the signatories and deprived some of them from continuing teaching and activities in the country’s universities.

During the presidency of Hassan Rouhani, forty economists also wrote a letter to the president and, by expressing criticisms of the government’s economic policies, asked him to reform his approach, but none of these letters and warnings were not only displeasing to the taste of government heads, but they continued their economic policies without regard to expert opinions.

Unlike previous years, the recent letter was not signed by prominent Iranian economic figures such as Mohsen Renani, Farshad Momeni, and Abbas Shakkari, but was signed by figures such as Mohammad Setarifar, Hojat Mirzaei, Behrouz Hadi Zannuz, and others whom Shariatmadari refers to as “creators of the current situation.”

Source: Voice of America