"We have missiles in Iran, but we don't have diapers!"
The Handelsblatt newspaper looks at the effects of US sanctions on Iran. A report on the Tehran bazaar with the headline was the result of a trip to Iran. The author believes that the economic situation in Iran is very dire.
Matthias Brugmann, a reporter for the German-language business newspaper Handelsblatt, has addressed the financial and economic consequences of the US government's sanctions on Iran.
According to the author of this article, the economic situation in Iran is deteriorating further and there is no solution in sight to overcome this crisis.
The shortage is not limited to consumer products. Access to raw materials needed by factories is also becoming increasingly difficult. The author discusses, among other things, the collapse of the rial and its effects on the Iranian economy.
Opening the door to corruption
The author considers the difference between the official dollar rate and its rate in the secondary and free market to be the basis for the spread of financial corruption. The consequence of this corruption is the division of society into “two classes.” A class that has access to dollars at the official rate and a group that must meet their production or even consumption needs with free market currency.
The effects of shortages and the rush of people to empty stores were also aspects that the author paid attention to during his trip to Iran.
People have started buying and stockpiling goods out of fear that the goods they need will become more expensive and scarce, an issue that has fueled the increase in prices and the scarcity of goods in the Iranian market.
The scarcity of goods in Iran, of course, has not only arisen as a result of citizens flocking to stores and domestic markets. We are also witnessing unprecedented purchases of goods by citizens of that country, including in areas along the border with Afghanistan.
The rising price of goods in Iran is still lower than the price of goods in the Afghan market compared to the parity rate between each Afghani, the Afghan currency, and the dollar.
Therefore, a widespread shortage has developed in some eastern and western cities of Iran.
Rocket instead of diaper
A citizen in the Tehran market told a Handelsblatt reporter: "The situation has really become ridiculous. We have missiles, but we don't have diapers."
He told the aforementioned publication's reporter that his neighbor stands in line for hours for milk powder and diapers. In this regard, the author mentions the possibility of couponing and rationing of goods in Iran.
Source: DW
