Iran’s Prosecutor General Says Recent Price Hikes Have ‘Behind-the-Scenes’ Factors
The country’s prosecutor general says “recent price hikes have behind-the-scenes factors and security and intelligence agencies should investigate the backstory of these price increases”.
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri provided no further explanation on the matter and only stated on Monday, November 8, during a gathering with journalists that “dealing with profiteers who arbitrarily raise prices is among the duties and responsibilities of the Organization of Enforcement of Taxes of the Islamic Republic”.
The ongoing trajectory of inflation and runaway price increases in Iran continues to set new records every day.
According to the latest report from Iran’s Statistical Center, basic food items in the country have experienced an average price increase of over 60 percent in the past year compared to the same period previously. Based on this, the price increase of food and beverage items in the country over the 12 months ending in Mehr this year compared to the same period last year (annual inflation) was 61.4 percent, which is considered a new record for inflation in food items.
Majid Reza Hariri, head of the Joint Chamber of Commerce of Iran and China, had told ILNA news agency on October 31 that Iran’s economy is at the “most dangerous point in the history of inflation of the past four decades” and there is a possibility of “hyperinflation” and severe price increases for goods.
The Center for Statistics and Strategic Information of the Ministry of Labor has announced that on average, out of Iran’s population of 85 million, 26 million and 700 thousand people are struggling with poverty across different deciles, a significant portion of which consists of working-class households.
Government inefficiency, widespread corruption, and economic sanctions alongside the coronavirus crisis are among the most important factors that have exacerbated Iran’s economic turmoil.
Source: Radio Farda
