An official from the Iranian Chamber of Commerce: Absolute poverty will increase

Khosrow Foroughan Garansayeh, head of the Domestic Trade Commission of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview with ILNA, referring to Ebrahim Raisi's words about eradicating absolute poverty: "With the way it is being implemented, not only will absolute poverty not be eliminated, but it will increase significantly, and the low-income deciles will face much more problems."

He predicted that there would be a large price increase in the coming year, and that the vulnerable group would suffer the most. ILNA quoted the economic director as saying: "Despite the official forecast of seven percent inflation in 1401, due to problems in the distribution, monitoring, and pricing structure, inflation will be much higher than the official figure."

Emphasizing the problems of the economic structure and criticizing the performance of government managers, he stated: "We do not have a transparent structure in any sector. Unfortunately, there is no necessary honesty among those who sign the documents."

In the last two weeks of 1400, Ebrahim Raisi called on Iranian governors to "use all capacities to eradicate absolute poverty and not allow this issue to reach 1401."

Activists and economic experts called the demand unprofessional and surprising. Social media users also made the directive a subject of satire and mockery.

According to a report published by the Ministry of Labor in late October 1402, in 2020, more than a third of Iran's population lived in "absolute poverty."

Earlier, Hamidreza Imam-Gholitabar, inspector of the Supreme Assembly of Workers' Representatives, had said that "half of the Iranian population lives in poverty."

In August 1400, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare published a report stating that one-third of Iran's population was below the "poverty line" in 2019. Based on Iran's population in the year in question, this figure includes more than 26 million Iranians.