‘Reformists’ Warn On Hijab Crackdown, Journalists Call It Suppression

With inflation expected to surpass 50%, the Iranian people are facing increasingly desperate conditions.

Referring to the hardships that many families are grappling with, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli warned that these problems could eventually lead to loss of faith in a meeting with the CEO of Iran’s National Bank (Bank Melli Iran) earlier this week.

Emphasizing the importance of Islam, he stated, “Religion will be wrecked if the economy cannot satisfy [the needs of the] people…After religious matters, money and wealth are what matters the most in the country.”

As a former member of the Expediency Council and a "marja" – a high-ranking religious authority in Shia Islam with many followers – Javadi-Amoli's views are considered significant. Government officials often visit him for both religious and political guidance, reflecting his continued influence.

An official from the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development stated on Saturday that Iranians in the lowest six percentiles cannot afford to buy a house, and that even renting is unaffordable for those in the lowest four percentiles.

“We are facing people who cannot even afford maintenance costs even if we provide their housing,” Naser Rezaei, deputy director of New Towns Development Company of the ministry said.

Iranian media, including some conservative outlets, are increasingly critical of the government's failure to control inflation and prevent the depreciation of the national currency. They also point to ambiguous and often contradictory regulations that enable corruption in the sector.

According to the conservative Khorasan newspaper, for instance, the prices of various legumes, an important item in the Iranian diet, have increased by 30%, red meat by 25%, and rice, also a staple, by 10%.

The newspaper contended that the rise in food prices is not related to increased demand during the month of Ramadan or the conflict with Israel, as officials often claim. Instead, it argued that the increase occurred before these events and is solely the result of government policies.

“The government's economic team is weak, but the weakest of all is the government's economic management,” lawmaker Jalil Rahimi-Jahanabadi, one of the few so-called reformists in the soon-to-be outgoing parliament, told Khabar Online.

Rahimi-Jahanabadi, who is also a member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, argued that while there may be experienced officials at the first deputy and minister levels, the government lacks an "economic commander." He noted that President Ebrahim Raisi, coming from a judiciary background, has no experience in economic matters.

Recently, discussions have predominantly focused on the ongoing and significant friction between the Minister of Economy, Ehsan Khandouzi, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Mohammadreza Farzin.

The stark differences in the policies of the two economic bodies, which have recently become more publicly known, have, many say, nearly paralyzed the government's economic apparatus.

Despite the evident issues, the government continues to assert that its economic bodies have made significant progress and denies any problems.

Sepehr Khalaji, head of the government’s information council, stated on Wednesday that there are no plans to make changes to its economic structure.

On Saturday, the reformist Etemad Online published excerpts of an interview with former President Hassan Rouhani’s VP, Es’hagh Jahangiri, in which he criticized both the government and parliament for their economic policies and widespread corruption.

In the interview, conducted over a month ago, Jahangiri expressed his shame over the fact that regional countries, which he said were once less developed than Iran, have now become the benchmark for comparison among Iranians.

“They once compared themselves with Europeans, well, if not Europe but at least Japan and [South] Korea,” he said.

Ali Beitollahi, the head of the vulnerability research section at the Road and Urban Development Research Center, pointed out that subsidence areas are expanding, predicting that adjacent zones will soon be engulfed by the main subsidence plains.

He warned that “Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, Kerman, and most importantly Isfahan, are precisely in the subsidence area.”

In Isfahan, concerns are intensifying as the situation poses a direct threat to its historical edifices, including the iconic Naqsh-e Jahan Square and numerous ancient bridges.

The subsidence phenomenon could lead to irreversible environmental damage, including water resource depletion, reduction in agricultural outputs, transformation of fertile lands into deserts, and the formation of deep fissures in the earth.

Reports indicate that the subsidence issue has worsened considerably over the past five years, with Beitollahi emphasizing that the affected area in Iran has tripled in size during this period.

The threat is so significant that a minor earthquake could trigger a major catastrophe, particularly in Isfahan, endangering over 2.7 million lives. From 2020 to 2021, Isfahan experienced subsidence rates nearly 40 times higher than the global average.

The ongoing crisis threatens to jeopardize 380 cities and 9,200 villages across Iran in addition to its natural ecosystem.

His remarks, delivered via a video released on Wednesday, imply that Iran could rapidly produce the main fuel for nuclear warheads.

Ghoddusi emphasized that despite the Supreme Leader's fatwa declaring the production and use of nuclear weapons unacceptable, Iran could escalate its response to match any nuclear threats it faces.

"If we are threatened with nuclear weapons, we will respond with a nuclear threat," Ghoddusi stated, indicating that conventional weapons like Katyusha rockets would be insufficient in such scenarios.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday that "Nuclear weapons have no place in our nuclear doctrine," referencing the so-called “nuclear fatwa” by Supreme Leader Khamenei, which bans the development of nuclear arms.

However, the authenticity and enforceability of this fatwa are widely debated among experts, with some suggesting it serves more as a diplomatic shield amid Iran’s enrichment more than a binding decree.

The legislation requires Biden to make a determination with respect to sanctioning Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office and that of the Iranian president. Biden should report to Congress every year whether those officials should remain under existing sanctions, making it much harder for the current and future administrations to unilaterally lift the sanctions.

The US Senate on Tuesday night unanimously passed the foreign aid package that incorporates the Iran sanctions. Another bill incorporated into the legislative package is Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act or the SHIP Act, which targets Tehran’s illicit oil exports in defiance of US sanctions.

During the voting session on Tuesday night, 79 senators voted for the landmark $95-billion aid package for Israel and Ukraine, which also includes Iran-related sanctions bills.

Eighteen senators voted against the bill, but it was finally passed by the Senate and now awaits President Joe Biden's signature before it can be implemented.

Immediately after the Senate's adoption of the bill, Joe Biden said he will sign the bill passed by the Senate into law on Wednesday.

“Tonight, a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history’s call at this critical inflection point. Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership: we stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression,” he said.

During an unusual Saturday session, the US House of Representatives had passed the $95 billion aid package for Ukraine and Israel, which also incorporated three bills targeting the Iranian government.

The main bill targeting the regime, dubbed the MAHSA Act, was introduced after nationwide protests rocked Iran in 2022-2023. The unrest began after a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, died in hijab police custody in September 2022. During the protests, regime forces killed around 550 protesters, injured hundreds and arrested over 22,000 people.

The Mahsa Amini Human rights and Security Accountability Act, or simply the MAHSA Act, will see the imposition of sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader’s office, its appointees and anyone affiliated with the office and its work. It is a huge nod to the impact that the 22-year-old’s death has had globally since September 2022.

Iranian-American activists campaigned persistently for the past year, as the Senate Democrats delayed putting the measure to a vote, while it had overwhelmingly passed the House. Earlier this month. A watered-down versions of the bill finally passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, before the original version of the Act has been incorporated into the larger aid package and is expected to pass the Senate.

The Mahsa Act requires the US government to impose applicable sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his Office and his appointees, Iran’s president and a number of entities affiliated with Khamenei.

The bill also requires the US President to report to Congress every year whether those officials should remain under existing sanctions, making it much harder for the current and future administrations to unilaterally lift the sanctions.

The other bill which includes the SHIP Act requires the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against foreign persons that knowingly transport, process, refine, or otherwise deal in petroleum and petroleum products (including petrochemicals) originating in Iran.

(The report was updated at 20:20 GMT)

In response to Iran’s attack on Israel this month, Josep Borrell said new measures are being leveled against Tehran, which include expanding existing sanctions regimes related to drones and missiles, as well as extending these measures to Iran-affiliated groups in the Middle East.

The EU has not designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, despite calls to do so and a resolution by the European Parliament last year voting to that effect.

Arguing that the bloc has already listed Tehran’s paramilitary force under the “Iran Weapons of Mass Destruction” sanctions’ regime, Borrell said that “listing this organization as a ‘terrorist organization’ would have no practical effect.”

In response to Borrell’s argument that the legal grounds for the listing have not been met, Charlie Weimers, a Swedish representative, called the EU chief “a liar.”

“That is nonsense. Here, I have the council's secret legal opinion. Nowhere in this document does it say that it has to be an authority in the EU…“You know that. You knew the truth. You shamelessly lied to protect the IRGC. We won't miss you, Mr. Borrell, but I'm sure the mullahs will,” Weimers stated.

German MEP Hannah Neumann, who has long argued for the designation of the IRGC, said: “What more does this regime have to do until you finally wake up to the harsh realities? The IRGC is a terror organization…The drones and missiles attacking Israel and attacking our ships in the Red Sea are manufactured in Iran, and we should have sanctioned all those involved months ago.”

“And last but not least, the regime is not legitimately representing the people of Iran, and you should stop pretending it would,” Neumann added, directly addressing Borell.

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Several MEPs and activists have taken steps to prepare the groundwork for the EU to act on calls to list the IRGC as a terror organization.

Last July, two MEPs stated that the IRGC could be listed without any legal obstacles under Article 1(4) of the "Common Position 2001/931/CFSP."

This point of view was also espoused by Iran's exiled prince Reza Pahlavi, citing a group of French-Iranian lawyers who held the view that the European Union does not have any legal obstacles to blacklisting the Revolutionary Guards.