Wave of protests in various cities; Raisi: Control prices

As concerns about the consequences of eliminating the preferential currency increase, the head of the 13th government of the Islamic Republic has asked members of the Market Regulation Headquarters to "control" prices, and a state-owned bank has announced the issuance of a "Damdar Card" with financing from the Central Bank of Iran.

As the scope of the effects of the new economic decision of the Ebrahim Raisi government expands, officials from various sectors are trying to describe the "inflationary effects" of the liberalization of the prices of basic goods as "small and limited."

• Concerns about price liberalization

On Saturday afternoon, May 14, at a meeting of the Market Regulation Headquarters, Ebrahim Raisi spoke about concerns about price liberalization among people he met in these places, referring to his presence the previous day in Tehran's Bahman Square and a visit to a chain store.

The 13th head of state of the Islamic Republic, announcing that "some imprudence" had been made in the process of eliminating the preferential currency, addressed the managers of the "trusted agencies" and stated: Control prices so that "people are not harmed" and any price increase above the "approved price" is prevented.

The official and multiple increase in the price of flour and related products last week prompted Iran's Minister of Agriculture to appear in front of television cameras and say that "we made flour more expensive because of wheat smuggling." At the same time, some members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly also announced that they had summoned the minister and considered the government's recent decision to choose this "foreign exchange supply" scheme a "grave mistake."

• The impact of rising commodity prices on housing

The head of the Real Estate Consultants Union told ISNA that if changes in the prices of goods such as oil, dairy products, and pasta "have a large impact on the inflation index," it may have a "small" impact on the housing market, but it will not cause "heavy price growth."

Mostafa Gholi Khosravi stated that the housing market is affected by parameters such as general inflation, parallel markets, housing production rates, construction costs, inflation of construction inputs, and wage rates, adding: "Recent changes in the prices of basic goods and food do not have much impact on this market."

Senior managers of the Islamic Republic government, including Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, have emphasized in recent days that the removal of the 4,200-toman exchange rate for flour and the increase in the prices of some basic goods, "chicken, eggs, dairy products, and oil," should not affect the market, and that no other goods "have the right or permission to become more expensive."

• Creating "cheap" places

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade for Commercial Affairs has promised that whenever the "electronic inventory" system is completed and announced, people wishing to receive "cheap goods" can go to specific locations.

Regarding the spread of concerns about the shortage of certain items nationwide, Mohammad Sadeq Mofatteh also stated that a headquarters has been formed in the ministry since last week, and "all stages of production, including the supply and transportation of raw materials to factories and the readiness of factories for 24-hour production," have been "fully" planned there.

Despite the passage of nearly eight months since the 13th government of the Islamic Republic came to power and the promise of an "immediate" solution to the country's economic problems by Ebrahim Raisi and government managers, the market situation and public livelihoods indicate an ever-increasing acceleration of prices and a further decline in people's purchasing power, to the point that even some supporters of this government, which supporters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, have dubbed "revolutionary," have joined the ranks of its critics.

• Issuing a "Damdar Card"

On the other hand, the CEO of the state-owned Bank of Agriculture, in an interview with the official IRNA news agency, announced the issuance of a "livestock card" with a credit limit of "200 million Tomans" in line with the government's plans in what it calls the "popularization and fair distribution of subsidies plan."

Mehdi Rezaei announced that the issuance of these cards was carried out "based on the order of the Minister of Agricultural Jihad of the Ebrahim Raisi government, starting on Thursday, May 12th," adding: "The credit provided by the Central Bank in this plan amounts to 263 trillion rials."

The official announcement of the liberalization of the price of "industrial and professional flour" along with the elimination of the "4,200-toman preferential currency" for some high-consumption goods in Iranian households' baskets has led to numerous protests against the economic policies of the Islamic Republic and citizens' concerns about the possibility of a sharp increase in the prices of other goods and services following recent decisions by the Ebrahim Raisi government.

Source: Voice of America