Disable the SIM, disable the citizen: Iran's new, silent crackdown

According to an email sent by the Attorney-General’s Department to Iran International, Press TV received a provisional transparency notice on 21 October 2025, which was finalized on Tuesday after the network failed to provide evidence rebutting the designation within the 28-day period.

Under the scheme, Press TV must now register on the public FITS portal and submit periodic reports on its activities in Australia. Failure to comply can result in prison terms of one to five years, heavy fines, or further prosecution under national security laws.

Press TV is only the third organization to be compulsorily registered under FITS. The two previous entities were Chinese. The Confucius Institute at the University of Sydney and the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China.

The scheme, in force since 2018, aims to increase public awareness of activities conducted in Australia on behalf of foreign governments.

Australia previously sanctioned Press TV in September 2023 over its role in broadcasting forced confessions and aiding the suppression of dissidents, one year after the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in morality police custody in 2022.

Despite the sanctions, the network continued filing reports from Sydney via its correspondent Shahane Batt until at least February 2025.

The registration comes as Australia’s Foreign Minister warned on Monday that Iran, Russia and North Korea continue to engage in sabotage and destabilization, while China seeks to reshape the region in its own interests.

Australia's Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS), launched in 2018 amid concerns over Chinese interference, is a more targeted and strictly enforced version of the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938.

While both require public registration and disclosure for activities on behalf of foreign principals to promote transparency, FITS focuses narrowly on political and governmental influence with clearer exemptions and criminal penalties up to five years in prison.

Across Iran’s rice-producing provinces, several main varieties are prized, and priced, above others, including the premium Tarom Hashemi, and the cheaper Fajr and Shiroudi varieties.

Research by Iran International shows that premium Tarom Hashemi rice is now being sold for up to four million rials (about $3.56) per kilogram.

A year ago, it sold for around 1.2 million rials (about $1.07) – a rise of more than 230% in just twelve months.

“Last year I bought this same rice for 1.2 million rials,” said Farhad, 38, from Karaj. “Now it’s 3.5 million, and I am sure it's not as genuine as it once was. Khamenei has spent over four decades chasing war, missiles and chanting ‘death to this or that.’ Now we can’t even afford rice.”

In Tehran, Fereshteh, a mother of two, said prices have soared in recent months. “Five months ago, it was 1.87 million rials (about $1.66). Today in the supermarket, it’s 3.57 million (about $3.17),” she told Iran International.

Rising inflation and a weakening currency have helped drive up costs of living in Iran and economic pain has deepened as Western and European-triggered international sanctions compound the country's international isolation.

A standoff over Iran's disputed nuclear program lingers as negotiations to resolve the impasse appear elusive. Tehran, which denies seeking nuclear weapons, rejects US demands to end domestic enrichment and rein in its missile capabilities and support for armed allies in the region.

The latest figures from Tehran’s Municipal Market Organization – where goods are sold below retail – show Tarom Hashemi rice each priced at 3.35 million rials (about $2.97) per kilogram, with other varieties ranging between 2.1 million rials ($1.87) and 2.75 million rials ($2.44).

Yet shoppers say such prices are deceptive as they allege stores mix low-grade grains into premium brands. True top-quality rice, they say, now costs between 3.5 million rials ($3.11) and 4 million rials ($3.56) per kilo.

Mid-range varieties also more pricey

Recent market data show that Shiroudi rice, which sold for 830,000 rials (about $0.74) per kilogram last November, now ranges between 2.1 million rials (about $1.87) and 2.35 million rials (about $2.09). Based on the lowest price, this marks a 153% annual increase.

Fajr rice has followed a similar trajectory: it rose from 900,000 rials (about $0.80) per kilogram last year to 2–2.75 million rials (about $1.78–$2.44) today – an increase of at least 122%.

One kilogram of Iranian rice feeds about five people.

Iran International’s analysis shows that each plate of rice now costs 800,000 to 1 million rials (about 71-89 cents), while even a single spoonful costs at least around 40,000 rials (about 4 cents).

For a family of four, consuming rice once daily – about 15 to 20 kilograms per month – means spending 70 to 100 million rials (about $62–$89), nearly half the average Iranian monthly income, which stands below $200.

Rice, once described as the daily heartbeat of Iranian cuisine, has become a measure of economic despair.

“I grew up in Gilan where rice was sacred,” said Mitra, 51, a retired teacher. “Now I can’t even afford one bag. What kind of country turns its own staple into gold?”

“Iranian rice has a unique aroma, texture, and flavor that perfectly matches our cuisine,” said Banafsheh, 44, from Tehran. “Foreign varieties – Indian, Pakistani, or Thai – can never replace it in Iranian cooking.

"Our rice is what we serve at gatherings; it’s a sign of respect for guests," she added. "But now, many of us can’t even fill our own plates with it. We’ve been forced to switch to foreign rice, and even that is becoming unaffordable.”

Profiteering, mismanagement

“While the global price for premium rice is about one dollar per kilogram, Iranian consumers pay the equivalent of over three dollars,” Agricultural economist Amir Aghajanian, a member of the Rice Producers Association, told the state-run Fars news agency.

Production costs for northern farmers, he said, are around 1.45 million rials (about $1.29) per kilogram, but middlemen push retail prices above 3.5 million rials (about $3.11). “Excessive profit-taking and weak market oversight have inflated prices far beyond production costs,” Aghajanian asserted.

Iran’s agriculture minister recently revealed that one importer earned $250 million in illicit profit through price manipulation and hoarding, highlighting deep flaws in import oversight.

Other agricultural experts say the crisis runs deeper: rising input costs, fragmented farmlands and outdated tools all push production expenses higher.

“When farmers use traditional methods on small plots, costs rise naturally,” one rice market analyst in Lahijan told Fars. “But when corrupt traders control imports, consumers suffer twice.”

For centuries, rice has anchored Iranian cuisine – from Chelo Kabab, the classic dish of steamed rice served with grilled meat, to Zereshk Polo, rice cooked with barberries and saffron next to chicken.

But in today’s Iran, families ration it like medicine. “Even foreign rice is slipping out of reach,” Farhad from Karaj added. “Our dinner tables are shrinking while the government talks about resistance and dignity.”

As one grocer told Iran International, “Rice was the food of everyone – rich and poor. Now it’s become the food of memory.”

Under the doctrine, officials say diplomacy is still possible—but only from a position of maximum strength and full military readiness, especially if talks were to resume under a second Trump administration.

Conservative outlets including Hamshahri, Jam-e Jam and Tabnak stressed that Iran would enter any talks “without trust, and ready to defend its red lines by force if necessary.”

In recent days, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani and Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh confirmed that several countries had passed messages from Washington about reopening nuclear talks.

Tehran’s answer, they said, is that no negotiations will occur unless Iran enters them with demonstrated deterrent power.

Battlefield diplomacy

Other developments point to escalation as well. Iran’s seizure of a foreign oil tanker in international waters last week underscored its willingness to court confrontation, testing the limits of U.S. patience.

The state-broadcaster daily Jam-e Jam made its case by citing Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi: “What you failed to take on the battlefield, you cannot impose at the negotiating table.” A

raghchi said on Sunday that Tehran was prepared for renewed conflict and was halting nuclear talks with the E3 (Britain, France and Germany) after they triggered the mechanism that returned UN sanctions on Iran.

The message, or the “doctrine” as it is described in Tehran, is that the Islamic Republic remains open to diplomacy, but only with weapons at the ready.

‘Armed negotiation’

On Monday, moderate outlets questioned both the logic behind the doctrine and what they see as conflicting signals from those in power.

“One day Iran strictly rules out any negotiation and a few days later the media say the other side has called for talks,” Ham Mihan wrote in an editorial. “This only makes sense if officials clarify what has changed in the other side’s conditions.”

The paper warned that the public is tired of “news that leads nowhere” and wants something new.

Even the conservative outlet Rokna—aligned with the security establishment—challenged the efficacy of Tehran’s approach, especially on the nuclear file.

“Iran’s nuclear ambiguity and the IAEA report have only symbolic value,” it asserted, reflecting the widely held view that Tehran is deliberately keeping its nuclear stockpile’s status unclear to deter the United States and Israel.

The moderate daily Setareh Sobh mocked the new doctrine as “armed negotiation,” arguing that it is less a show of strength than a “product of mounting economic pressures, the snapback of sanctions, and a series of regional developments.”

In an interview with the Iranian parliament-affiliated Khaneh Mellat news agency, Ahmad Nejatian, the head of Iran's Nursing Organization, said the requirement to restrict marriage or childbearing was “illegal and unethical” and added that “it must be addressed.”

“Around 70 percent of the country’s nurses are women, and most of them are of childbearing age, and these individuals have the right to marry, become mothers, and benefit from their legal entitlements,” he said.

Nejatian said staffing shortages during maternity leave were the main driver behind the clinics’ demands. “In some hospitals, up to 30 percent of staff are on maternity leave at the same time, and this shortage makes the situation more difficult,” he said.

He said pregnant nurses are typically moved away from high-risk units such as intensive care, operating rooms, and departments with radiation or infectious exposure. Nejatian said the reassignment is “a natural and necessary action,” but without replacement staff, “additional pressure is placed on the healthcare system.”

Nejatian urged the government to allow temporary hiring during maternity leave, saying: “The absence of even one nurse in medical settings can place significant pressure on other staff.”

In October, Ghasem Aboutalebi, head of the Nursing Organization’s Supreme Council, said Iran faces a shortage of 165,000 nurses, with a nurse-to-bed ratio of 0.9, compared with a target of 1.8 under the country’s six-year development plan.

The shortage is worsened by excessive workloads, delayed or insufficient pay, insecure employment, short-term contracts, and the growing exodus of skilled nurses seeking better opportunities abroad.

Nurses across Iran have repeatedly protested over pay, heavy workloads, insecure contracts and chronic understaffing.

“Combating nudity and improper hijab is a special priority for the judiciary and judicial officers, and those who issue permits or organize events that violate the law and Sharia will be prosecuted,” Mizan said in a report on Sunday.

Mizan added that agencies authorized to issue permits for ceremonies, celebrations, or gatherings “must obtain serious commitments from applicants to observe social norms before issuing permits and maintain continuous on-site monitoring during events to ensure these commitments are upheld.”

Mizan said prosecutors should supervise how permit-issuing bodies enforce these requirements and act against any negligence.

The outlet cited earlier remarks by Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who has repeatedly warned that authorities view what they call social “abnormalities” as part of an organized effort.

Ejei has said he instructed prosecutors “to ask security and law enforcement agencies to identify organized and foreign-linked groups involved in social abnormalities and refer them to the judiciary.”

Ejei has argued that the promotion of improper hijab and related behavior is one of the “enemy’s” tools to undermine religious and social values, telling officials in recent speeches that security, intelligence, and judicial bodies must act against groups the state considers coordinated or foreign-influenced.

He has also said event organizers, venue operators, and permit-issuing bodies share legal responsibility for any violation that occurs at their gatherings and will be prosecuted as accomplices if they fail to prevent acts deemed contrary to law or Sharia.

He urged prosecutors to demand strict oversight from judicial officers across public venues such as restaurants, cafés, and entertainment spaces.

Mizan's report comes as authorities in Iran are increasingly targeting businesses rather than individuals who refuse to observe the theocracy’s strict social laws around veiling and gender mixing.

Last month, authorities in Tehran shut down two cafe-restaurants over alleged violations including “serving alcohol, nudity, and mixed-gender dancing.”

Since August, at least 20 cafes, garden restaurants, and wedding halls have been closed in Tehran, Dezful, Hamedan, Kashan and Maragh in Isfahan province over alleged hijab violations, according to a report by reformist daily Ham Mihan.