Nephew Of Former Iranian Security Official Arrested For Corruption

The 6th Exhibition on Export Potential of the Islamic Republic of Iran, dubbed ‘IRANEXPO 2024,’ is being held in Tehran from 27 April to 1 May.

North Korea's official media reported last week that a delegation led by the cabinet minister for international trade was visiting Iran, marking a rare public acknowledgment of ties between the two countries with presumed secret military cooperation.

Despite long-standing suspicions of collaboration between North Korea and Iran on ballistic missile programs, Kanaani rejected such claims, denouncing certain media outlets for "biased speculations by publishing untrue and baseless news".

The minister for external economic relations, Yun Jong Ho, led the delegation's visit to Iran, according to North Korea's KCNA news agency. Yun, who has previously focused on Syria relations, has been actively involved in bolstering ties with Russia, leading a delegation to Moscow earlier this month.

In the face of denials, suspicions persist regarding ballistic missile collaborations between Iran, North Korea, and Russia, with reports indicating Iran's supply of ballistic missiles to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The report, which analyzed poverty trends from March 2022 to March 2023, has underscored a disparity between the minimum wage and the poverty threshold in Iran's provinces.

Incomes in Tehran, Alborz and Qom are inadequate to cover living expenses for a family of three, the study said.

The study also focused on patterns concerning nutrition and economic stability across Iran.

It highlights that half of Iran’s population falls short of the recommended calorie intake of 2,100 calories, with a significant decrease observed across all income brackets, particularly among middle-income earners.

This decline is primarily attributed to escalating inflation rates, which have soared to nearly 50%, leading to increased food prices and housing expenses, exacerbating the difficulties faced by Iranians, reducing their purchasing power, and widening the gap.

As a result of these challenges, many households are confronted with decisions such as cutting back on food consumption and prioritizing spending on durable goods amid a gloomy economic outlook.

According to the report, the poverty threshold for a three-person household in Tehran from March 2023 to March 2024 sits at 153 million rials (approximately $240), whereas the national average stands at 82 million rials ($130).

Meanwhile, Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a member of the parliament, stated Monday that "currently, many Iranian families have fallen below the poverty line," warning that "the middle class has almost disappeared."

He added that the number of families living below the poverty line has more than doubled compared to the past.

The phenomenon of the "working poor" – individuals employed yet living in poverty due to low wages – is particularly evident in Tehran, Alborz, and Qom. Even among those holding formal employment, escaping poverty remains elusive.

According to Dideban-e Iran news website, the price per kilo has doubled in the last year to 6,200,000 rials ($11). Afshin Sadr-Dadras, the CEO of Iran’s Central Union of Livestock, announced in June that the country’s demand for red meat has halved as per capita consumption of the item has alarmingly decreased in just two or three years from 12 kg to 6 or 7 kg.

Amid the economic crisis, many Iranians had recently begun to replace red meat with poultry, as families struggle with even the most basic food items, but even poultry has now become inaccessible to many.

On Thursday, Ali Ebrahimi, the CEO of the National Union of Poultry Producers, said that poultry production has overtaken consumption over the past two months, resulting in a surplus of supply over demand and lowering the price of the commodity.

The decline in price has hurt poultry farmers who are set to export 5,000 tons of poultry to Iraq in the next eight days, he stated.

Reports received earlier in March by Iran International indicate a significant drop in people’s purchasing power and the elimination of many food items in their diets, including red meat, chicken, and fish, one third of the country now living below the poverty line.

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

The sharp rise in inflation in Iran has not just affected the food market. According to Iran's leading economic daily Donyaye Eqtesad (World of Economy), rent prices in the country in April 2024 rose by around 42 percent compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, a real estate expert told Etemad daily that another increase of 40 percent or even more in rent prices is likely to occur in the next two months. Referring to the steady rise in Iran’s inflation rate, Abbas Akbarpour, Secretary of the Iranian Association of Road and Construction Engineers, remarked that landlords try to “preserve their capital” by determining the rent higher than the inflation rate and this means that rent prices are expected to increase even more.

The uncertainty in the economy and the continued depreciation of the national currency have led property owners to try to partially cover the effects of inflation in the next months, Akbarpour went on to say.

In more than a decade, Iran's economic growth has averaged zero. The situation has been further exacerbated since the US withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018. Over the past six years, the rial, Iran’s national currency, has fallen 15-fold, fueling inflation and plunging millions of citizens into poverty.

An analysis of posts on Persian social media in March indicated that fast-growing residential rents have turned into one of the most serious economic concerns among Iranians.

After enduring a more than 40 percent annual inflation rate for the past five years and seeing their purchasing power slashed to a fraction of what it was in 2018, Iranians now have to struggle with rising rents that are surpassing the monthly salary of an ordinary employee.

In recent days, an increasing number of Iranian politicians, media outlets, and senior clerics have voiced criticism of the government's handling of the country's worsening economic crisis.

The alcohol at the private event reportedly resulted in the death of one female doctor, left another in a coma, and caused several others to suffer from kidney failure.

Alcohol has been prohibited in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution – with penalties including imprisonment, floggings, and fines for consumption, production, or sale.

First-time offenders can face up to 80 lashes, and repeated offenses may lead to the death penalty.

For years, however, Iranians have continued to consume both imported and homemade alcoholic drinks available through the black market.

A 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) report ranked Iran ninth out of 189 countries in alcohol consumption per capita, indicating a significant level of underground activity related to the production and distribution of alcoholic beverages.

The latest incident is part of a broader pattern observed in late June and early July 2023, where numerous poisoning cases were reported across several provinces including Tehran, Alborz, Mazandaran, Hormozgan, and Qazvin.

Those incidents were linked to the consumption of what has been termed by authorities as "counterfeit beverages" or industrial alcohol, which have also led to multiple deaths.

Most victims identified in the cases are reportedly between the ages of 20 to 40 years old.

Many Iranians see these events as a reflection of the continuous overreach of religious regulations into their personal lives and choices.

Iran International has not yet been able to independently verify the authenticity of the footage, but the incident reportedly took place on April 28 at Hadish Mall in the Shamsabad area east of Tehran.

In the video, the mother asserts her rights by shouting at the police, "You won’t take my daughter anywhere," and insists that they wait for the girl's father to arrive before taking any action.

This latest video is part of a growing number of similar confrontations captured and spread on social media, showcasing the escalating tension between the Iranian populace and the authorities enforcing the hijab laws.

Recently, Iranian authorities have intensified those efforts under the regime’s new enforcement plan, dubbed “Plan Noor”.

This surge has resulted in violent crackdowns, targeting Iranian women on the streets.

Despite the regime’s efforts, there's a noticeable wave of civil disobedience sweeping across the country, with many women appearing in public spaces without hijabs, protesting against the impositions.

The ongoing crackdown on women follows several other troubling cases, including that of 16-year-old Armita Geravand, who fell into a coma after an altercation with hijab enforcers on Tehran’s subway in October 2023.

Reports suggest that she was pushed by a female security agent, resulting in a severe head injury – though the regime has attempted to obscure the incident's details.

The recent crackdowns, following a directive from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on April 13, have resulted in the arrest of hundreds of women across various cities in Iran.