Iran's president pledges support in phone call with Hamas chief
Iran would support any decision by Palestinian leaders in ongoing negotiations with Israel, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday during a phone call with Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will support any measure, initiative or decision taken by Palestinian leaders in the course of the negotiations,” Pezeshkian said, according to the Iranian government’s website.
He said Palestine remained central to Iran’s foreign policy despite recent US and Israeli attacks on the country.
“Palestine has never ceased to be a priority of Iran’s foreign policy and remains the foremost issue for the Islamic world,” Pezeshkian said.
Al-Hayya thanked Iran for supporting Palestinians and said Hamas was conducting political negotiations in coordination with other Palestinian factions, according to the Iranian account of the call.
“The Palestinian people, despite the continuing attacks and pressure, will remain committed to their aspirations and to the blood of Palestinian victims,” al-Hayya was cited as saying.
Average annual inflation has climbed to a record 62%, while year-on-year inflation has surged to 82%, rapidly eroding household purchasing power.
Food prices remain the principal driver of overall inflation, with annual food inflation staying in triple digits for a sixth consecutive month. In July, food inflation reached 134% nationwide and 140% in rural areas. More than two-thirds of the food items monitored by the statistical agency now exceed what economists describe as crisis-level inflation.
Prices have risen sharply across other sectors as well. Household appliances are estimated to cost 114% more than a year ago, while transportation costs have climbed 103%. Economists warn that a possible gasoline price increase could push food inflation even higher by raising distribution and delivery costs.
War or government policy?
Critics of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government, many of whom also oppose an agreement with the United States, argue that the inflation surge is rooted entirely in domestic economic policy rather than the recent conflict.
Hojjat Abdolmaleki, labor minister under former president Ebrahim Raisi, dismissed any connection between the war and rising prices.
“The war has had no effect whatsoever on inflation. Inflation has risen steadily throughout the Pezeshkian Administration, and the war’s contribution to these price increases is zero,” he said.
“Virtually all of this inflation is the direct result of misguided policies and government incompetence. Even without the war, the situation would have been the same, perhaps even worse.”
Other economists reject that assessment, arguing that both domestic policy and the conflict have driven prices higher.
Mohammad Sadegh-Alhosseini told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) that domestic policies could account for inflation of between 30% and 50%, but that the increase beyond that range was linked to international tensions and the war.
Mojtaba Yousefi, a member of parliament, also said it was inaccurate to claim that the war had no effect on prices. “But it is equally wrong to attribute all inflation to the war,” he said.
Economists also caution that even an agreement between Tehran and Washington, potentially unlocking frozen assets, easing sanctions, increasing oil revenue and reducing inflation expectations, would be unlikely to bring prices down quickly.
They say chronic budget deficits, entrenched corruption and structural inefficiencies are so deeply embedded that reversing them could take years.
Even if the fighting ends, the cost of rebuilding damaged infrastructure and industry would continue to strain public finances. Conservative politician Mohammad-Reza Bahonar recently estimated reconstruction costs at $200 billion.
Purchasing power continues to collapse
The inflation surge has increasingly affected ordinary Iranians. According to a report by the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), during recent months even basic staples such as chicken, eggs and bread have become unaffordable for many working-class households. Bread prices alone have risen by between 100% and 140% on average.
Official data show that prices of at least eight food items have more than doubled over the past year. Cooking oil has risen 261%, while meat prices have increased 145%.
By comparison, ILNA wrote, the minimum wage has increased by only 60%, while salaries for civil servants, pensioners, nurses and teachers have risen by between 20% and 43%, averaging roughly 30%. As a result, many of these households no longer fit the conventional definition of the middle class, the report argued.
Government food vouchers introduced in January have also lost much of their purchasing power, as authorities have left their value unchanged despite soaring food prices.
Ahmad, a retired civil servant in Tehran, said the vouchers initially allowed him to buy around ten food items. "Now I can only afford three or four."
Social media has also reflected the growing financial strain. Users report increasing numbers of people selling, or even renting out, personal belongings such as electronic devices to cover daily expenses.
Journalist Azadeh Mokhtari wrote: "When advertisements for selling hair, or even renting laptops for online classes, become more common, it means the middle class is being worn away, and the lower-income class is being pushed out of the economy."
Misery index reaches new peak
The deteriorating economic environment is also reflected in Iran's misery index, the combined rate of annual inflation and unemployment.
With annual inflation at 62% and unemployment at 9.1% in the quarter ending in June, the misery index climbed to a record 71.1%, up from 64.2% in the previous quarter. The index stood at 56.6% during the same period in 2021.
The economic burden is not evenly distributed across the country. Several provinces have recorded misery index readings above 100%, with Lorestan registering the highest level at 121.5%.
Economists say the figures reflect not only declining purchasing power and weaker job security but also rising uncertainty that makes long-term financial planning increasingly difficult for households.
As executions have accelerated in recent weeks, some Iranian social media users have increasingly portrayed the pre-dawn adhan as a reminder of hangings rather than the beginning of the day’s religious observances.
The adhan is the Islamic call summoning Muslims to the five daily prayers.
Iranian regulations state that death sentences should ordinarily be carried out at sunrise unless the court specifies another time. Executions are nevertheless widely associated with the early-morning hours, when prisoners’ families and supporters often wait for news as the dawn call to prayer is broadcast.
Social media anger turns toward religious symbols
Posts criticizing Islam and religious symbols circulated across Instagram and X following the latest executions.
An Instagram user wrote that the dawn adhan had become “a symbol and reminder of the execution of this country’s youth,” adding that a call intended to invite people to worship, peace and salvation had instead become associated with taking lives.
Activist Masih Alinejad wrote after clashes outside an execution site that the dawn call to prayer had become “only a symbol of death and execution.”
Another Instagram user wrote before planned executions in Isfahan that the young prisoners were due to be hanged “to the sound of the dawn call to prayer,” adding that it now carried “only the smell of death.”
Other users went further, posting profanity directed at Islam, the Quran, Shi’ite religious figures, the adhan and the Arbaeen pilgrimage. Some wrote that they no longer associated the dawn call with prayer but with executions.
IRGC-linked campaign urges crackdown
The IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency said more than 700 people had signed a campaign on its platform by Tuesday, calling for the “maximum punishment” of those accused of “insulting Islamic sanctities online.”
Organizers cited Article 513 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code and urged judicial and security authorities to take what they described as “effective and deterrent” action.
Under Article 513, insulting Islamic sanctities is punishable by between one and five years in prison. Cases classified as sabb al-nabi, or insulting the Prophet, can carry the death penalty.
Fars said campaign supporters called for tougher enforcement against people who “deliberately insult Islamic sanctities” online and urged authorities to prosecute offenders under existing legislation.
Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir has previously said Iran continuously monitors cyberspace through a dedicated unit within the prosecutor general’s office and urged citizens to report alleged online offenses through official channels.
The campaign adds to broader efforts by Iranian authorities to tighten oversight of online speech as criticism over the recent executions continues to spread across social media.
