US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's advice to stop paying taxes and stockpile fuel drew mixed reactions on Iran International's Instagram page, with commenters debating its practicality and the role of public resistance against the Islamic Republic.
The responses followed Bessent's interview with Iran International, in which he urged Iranians to prepare for severe fuel shortages and forecast a contraction of more than 25 percent in the country's economy in the year ending March 2027.
“My advice to the Iranian people would be: don't pay your taxes because you're not going to get anything back from the government,” Bessent told Iran International's Kambiz Tavana on Monday.
Bessent also urged households to stock up on heating fuel and fill their gasoline tanks, warning that Washington's Operation Economic Outcast would intensify over the next eight weeks.
The interview prompted a discussion among Iranians commenting on Iran International's Instagram post, with responses ranging from support for economic noncooperation to questions about how individuals could implement the recommendations.
Tax boycott prompts questions over implementation
Several commenters pointed out that income taxes are deducted automatically from salaries, leaving employees with little control over whether they pay them.
“We don't voluntarily pay taxes; they take them from us. Other deductions are made too, and whatever salary remains is paid late,” one commenter wrote.
Others noted that taxes are also included in the prices of goods and services, making them difficult to avoid through individual action.
“To avoid paying taxes, we'd have to stop eating because they're built into essentials. We'd starve if we didn't pay. And what fuel are we supposed to store, and how?” another wrote.
Some business owners and other respondents raised concerns about the consequences of withholding taxes, including potential restrictions on bank accounts and payment terminals.
“If you fail to pay taxes, your card terminal and bank accounts can be blocked. A shopkeeper's livelihood depends on them. We know this route; if it worked, we'd have tried it. Why not listen to people about practical solutions?”
Others questioned how much a boycott of individual tax payments would affect the Islamic Republic's finances.
Fuel recommendations draw questions
Bessent's recommendation to stockpile gasoline and heating fuel also generated discussion about household infrastructure, storage capacity and costs.
Several commenters noted that many Iranian homes use piped natural gas for heating and hot water, rather than fuel that can easily be stored.
“Where am I supposed to store fuel? I live in a 74-square-metre apartment with no balcony or storage. There's barely room for me. Even if I had fuel, how would I use it in my gas heating system?”
Another asked how households could prepare for shortages of piped gas or gasoline.
“How exactly should we stockpile fuel? How can we store the piped gas supplied to our homes, or gasoline for our cars?”
Financial considerations were another recurring theme, with some respondents describing difficulties setting aside money for additional supplies.
“A week after my salary arrives, only a small portion remains in my account, and I have to live on that until the end of the month. How am I supposed to stockpile fuel?” one wrote.
Others responded with humor, including suggestions about filling balloons with gas or storing kerosene in apartments.
Some urge collective action against the Islamic Republic
Not all responses focused on the practical challenges. Some supported Bessent's broader message, arguing that Iranians should take an active role in increasing economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.
“People of Iran, we should act too; we cannot expect the US to do everything. Let's start by not paying water, electricity and gas bills, and shopkeepers should withhold taxes.”
The suggestion also prompted questions about possible consequences, including the disconnection of essential services for nonpayment.
Others raised concerns about the wider impact of Washington's pressure campaign, including the possibility of military action and its consequences for civilians.
“Are Iranians supposed to do everything – take to the streets, risk their families and lives – only for the US to bomb Iran, divide its territory and take its oil? Ordinary Iranians would be worse off,” one commenter wrote.
Bessent said the US campaign was intended to pressure Iran's leadership rather than its population, forecasting further economic deterioration and serious fuel shortages this winter.
Talks involving Saudi Arabia and its defense partners in Tehran may offer a final diplomatic opportunity before a collective military response, a regional affairs analyst said Monday, amid attacks on Saudi territory and threats of renewed US-Iran fighting.
Mohamed Fahmy, a journalist and regional affairs analyst, described the visit as an exercise in "coercive diplomacy," arguing that the alliance was combining negotiations with preparations for a possible military response.
"This may be the last chance before a collective imminent military action," he told Iran International.
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, with Rezaei hosting the four-way talks.
Riyadh said the visit by representatives of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was part of efforts to reduce tensions and promote dialogue.
The attacks on Saudi Arabia have presented the first major test of the agreement, signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in August, which pledges collective action when a member comes under attack.
Iranian state television reported that the four countries agreed to continue discussions on regional peace and security. No agreement to halt the Houthi attacks was announced.
The talks also unfolded against renewed threats of military action between Washington and Tehran. President Donald Trump has kept open the possibility of renewed strikes, while Iranian officials have warned of retaliation.
"The main objective is pressure," Fahmy said.
He said Saudi Arabia and its partners were attempting to exhaust diplomatic options while demonstrating that continued Houthi attacks could bring a collective response.
Professor Saad bin Tefla al-Ajmi, a former Kuwaiti information minister, told Iran International that the seniority of the delegation demonstrated the lengths to which Iran's neighbors were prepared to go to prevent another war.
He described the visit as an extraordinary diplomatic effort to prevent renewed hostilities, but said it could be interpreted in sharply different ways within Tehran, either as evidence of Iranian strength or as an opportunity to pursue a diplomatic settlement.
Iranian hardliners, he said, could portray the arrival of senior Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials as evidence that the Islamic Republic had gained the upper hand, forcing its neighbors to seek accommodation on Iranian territory.
A more pragmatic interpretation would see the visit as an opportunity for Tehran to demonstrate a willingness to cooperate with neighboring countries and pursue a diplomatic settlement, while portraying Washington and Israel as responsible if negotiations failed.
"It depends on whose mind you are reading in Tehran now," al-Ajmi said.
Attacks test the Mecca pact
Al-Ajmi also pointed to a hardening Saudi position toward the Houthis, arguing that Riyadh had exhausted its attempts to accommodate the group.
"I think that they have made their mind that the Houthi will have to go and they can't take it anymore," he told Iran International.
Al-Ajmi said Saudi Arabia was seeking international diplomatic and political support while demonstrating that it had been the target of aggression by the Houthis and their Iranian backers.
The urgency of the talks follows a series of deadly attacks on Saudi civilian and strategic infrastructure.
The Houthis claimed fresh attacks Monday on Saudi oil infrastructure and Riyadh airport, although Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm those claims.
The Saudi-led coalition also reported destroying Houthi missile infrastructure in Yemen, while Egypt's parliament authorized military support to help defend Saudi Arabia, potentially drawing another regional power more directly into the confrontation.
Egypt's decision, Fahmy argued, adds another dimension to the confrontation, with potential consequences for the country's already vulnerable economy.
The diplomatic effort may also involve financial concessions.
Israel Hayom reported Monday, citing unnamed Persian Gulf diplomatic sources, that Saudi Arabia was discussing a possible $1 billion payment to the Houthis through Iran as part of a ceasefire arrangement.
The Israeli newspaper said a Saudi official did not confirm any transfer but acknowledged that earlier understandings with the Houthis included financial assistance for public-sector salaries and reconstruction in exchange for an end to attacks.
Iran International could not independently verify the reported $1 billion proposal.
The possibility of a negotiated settlement comes as the Mecca pact's ability to fulfill its military commitments faces growing scrutiny.
Historian and political analyst Dr. Shahram Kholdi told Iran International that the alliance had failed to deliver the protection promised to its members.
"The Mecca Pact has effectively been a paper tiger," Kholdi said.
He argued that despite military cooperation among the three countries, Saudi Arabia remained vulnerable to Houthi missile and drone attacks.
Obstacles to a lasting settlement
Kholdi believes the delegation's principal objective is to persuade Tehran to restrain the Houthis, potentially in exchange for efforts to convince Washington to reconsider some of the conditions preventing renewed US-Iran negotiations.
He said Turkey and Pakistan were reluctant to confront the Houthis directly because of the risk of Iranian retaliation, leaving Saudi Arabia pursuing diplomacy while continuing to face attacks.
Even securing Tehran's cooperation, however, may not produce a lasting settlement.
Kholdi argued that the Houthis could demand political guarantees amounting to the effective partition of Yemen before agreeing to stop their attacks.
Such an arrangement could leave Saudi Arabia facing an entrenched hostile entity along its southern border, an outcome Riyadh has so far resisted.
Other regional diplomatic efforts have focused on the US-Iran standoff. Qatari officials visited Tehran on Sunday, while Pakistan has continued to serve as an intermediary between the United States and the Islamic Republic.
Disagreements remain over the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, access through the Strait of Hormuz and the terms of a broader settlement addressing Iran's nuclear program.
Kholdi expects the diplomatic effort could produce a temporary reduction in hostilities, but doubts it will deliver a lasting ceasefire. He warned that even a brief lull could unravel through miscalculation.
The Mecca pact was established to provide collective security. Continued attacks on Saudi Arabia are now testing that commitment while its members pursue talks with Iran.
With no announced agreement to halt the Houthi attacks and the US-Iran standoff unresolved, the risk of a military confrontation extending well beyond Yemen remains.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview with Iran International, warned Iranians to stock up on gasoline and heating fuel ahead of expected shortages, predicting the economy would shrink by more than a quarter in the year ending March 2027.
Bessent said Iran was running short of foreign currency, oil production was beginning to falter and the next eight weeks of Washington's Operation Economic Outcast would be “even more intense.”
“I would predict that from March of '26 until March of '27, the economy would contract more than 25 percent, which is more than the Soviet Union contracted after its collapse,” Bessent told Iran International’s Kambiz Tavana on Monday.
The Treasury secretary said the campaign was intended to pressure Iran's leadership rather than its population, while warning of severe fuel shortages this winter.
“My advice to the Iranian people would be: don't pay your taxes because you're not going to get anything back from the government,” Bessent said.
“You should start stocking up on heating fuel. There's going to be a big heating fuel shortage. In terms of gasoline, everyone should fill up their tanks now.”
Asked about the impact on ordinary Iranians, Bessent said humanitarian channels remained open for food and medicine, but the government was running out of dollars to pay for imports.
He also said authorities were printing money, failing to pay salaries and would continue cutting social benefits.
Bessent said economic pressure was exposing disagreements among Iranian politicians, the Revolutionary Guards and the supreme leader. He described some IRGC commanders as isolated from the public and unaware of the extent of the economic deterioration.
‘More intense’ pressure ahead
Iran's economy has come under mounting pressure from two rounds of war with the United States and Israel, a US naval blockade that has sharply curtailed its oil exports and an expanding sanctions campaign targeting its remaining sources of foreign currency.
“Iran, for the first time, probably since oil was discovered, has no oil on the water,” Bessent said. “There have been no loadings at Kharg Island. Production is starting to falter.”
“We've been going for eight weeks, and I can tell you the next eight weeks is going to get even more intense,” he said.
Bessent said Washington remained prepared to negotiate, but insisted Iran could not have a nuclear weapon and must stop financing regional armed groups.
Diplomatic efforts have intensified in recent days, with Qatari mediators in Tehran on Sunday followed on Monday by senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey seeking to de-escalate tensions and revive negotiations.
Tehran, however, has shown little sign of softening its core demands under mounting economic pressure. Iranian officials insist Washington must meet its conditions, including lifting the naval blockade.
Targeting Iran's middlemen
Bessent also appealed directly to people involved in moving Iranian government money overseas, saying some financial intermediaries were already refusing to return funds to Tehran.
Iranian officials commonly refer to such intermediaries as “trustees,” who handle oil revenues and other transactions outside the formal banking system to circumvent sanctions.
“We are seeing the regime go bankrupt,” Bessent said. “So many of the people who are holding money outside of Iran do not want to send it back in.”
He said Iranians inside the country, members of the diaspora and employees of embassies and consulates could provide information to Treasury under its whistleblower program, with rewards of up to 30% of recovered funds.
“We are happy to unsanction individuals who work with us,” he said, adding that cooperating intermediaries could potentially claim 30% of funds they were holding for Tehran.
Bessent said Treasury was also tracking Iran's attempts to move money through cryptocurrency and foreign banks.
“There are numerous banks… We shut the Dubai branches of an Egyptian bank. We closed a Turkish bank, the second-largest Russian bank, VTB. We discovered that their external branches outside of Russia were aiding the regime,” he said.
‘Nothing like this’
Bessent rejected suggestions that Iran could wait for the US midterm elections in the hope that Washington's approach would change.
“Nothing will change in terms of President Trump's calculus, in terms of how resolute we are here at Treasury, in terms of the blockade,” he said.
Asked whether the combination of sanctions and a naval blockade had any historical precedent, Bessent said the closest comparison was Washington's campaign against Venezuela, but argued that the measures imposed on Iran went substantially further.
“There's been nothing like this,” he said.
Two retired employees of Iran's national airline died after being forced to abandon medical treatment they could not afford, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported on Monday, citing the head of the airline's retirees' association.
Jalal Hashemi, chairman of the Iran Air Retirees Association, said the deaths occurred over the past two to three weeks amid worsening financial and healthcare problems affecting around 13,000 retirees and pensioners of the airline, also known as Homa.
"The situation has become so catastrophic that in just the past two or three weeks, two of our retired colleagues were forced to abandon treatment because they could not afford hospital expenses, and unfortunately lost their lives," Hashemi told ILNA.
Iranian households face mounting economic hardship after years of inflation, sanctions and economic mismanagement, compounded by two rounds of war with the United States and Israel.
Iran Air retirees have staged repeated protests over pension payments, healthcare coverage and the management of their retirement fund.
In August, retirees gathered outside the airline's headquarters in Tehran to demand improvements to healthcare services and the reinstatement of suspended welfare payments.
Hashemi said Iran Air had paid only two of 12 installments owed to Iran Insurance Company under its insurance contract for the Iranian year ending in March 2026, prompting the insurer to suspend inpatient hospital coverage for retirees.
According to Hashemi, Iran Air retirees receive an average monthly pension of around 270 million rials (about $100), while approximately 5,600 receive minimum pensions of just over 180 million rials (about $66).
He estimated the shortfall in the airline's healthcare insurance fund at 4 trillion rials (about $1.5 million), saying no institution had accepted responsibility for covering the deficit.
Recent reductions in government-subsidized foreign currency for medicine imports, drug price increases and rising out-of-pocket healthcare costs have further strained the fund.
Hashemi also said Iran Air management had suspended a monthly welfare allowance of 60 million rials (about $22), citing financial losses from the war and reduced flights.
Flour shortages have forced bakeries to close in several Iranian cities and pushed up bread prices, with residents and bakers reporting disrupted supplies, falling purchasing power and growing uncertainty over their businesses.
Residents in Tabriz, Karaj, Kerman and Hamedan told Iran International that interruptions and delays in flour deliveries had disrupted independent bakeries and producers of various types of bread.
Several bakeries on a street in Tabriz have shut down, a resident said.
“I asked why, and they told me they weren't receiving flour. They keep promising that the flour quotas will be replenished today or tomorrow, but nothing happens.”
Previous reports have also documented flour shortages and bakery closures, with residents describing bread shortages and interruptions to production caused by electricity outages.
Flour supply disruptions shut bakeries and sandwich shops
Independent bakers have reported that difficulties obtaining flour have forced businesses to suspend operations.
A citizen of Hamedan in western Iran said flour shortages and rising prices had affected not only bakeries producing specialty bread but also sandwich shops.
Flour prices have risen, and suppliers are now saying there is no flour available at all, the resident said.
“Our bakery is closed because we have no flour, and nobody is taking responsibility,” a independent baker told Iran International.
The shortages have coincided with declining purchasing power, leaving bakeries struggling to secure supplies as customers struggle to afford bread.
“They don't have flour to give us, and I swear to God, people don't have money to buy bread either. Our economic situation has become critical,” another baker said.
Iran's flour distribution system distinguishes between subsidized bakeries and independent bakeries, which face different purchasing prices and supply arrangements.
Flour allocations to certain independent bakeries had been reduced, Bagher Khodadadi, head of supervision and inspection at the Khorasan Razavi provincial agriculture department, confirmed on October 21.
Khodadadi said the shortages in flour distribution had been addressed.
Bakeries reducing their operating hours because of flour shortages would be committing a violation and could face enforcement measures, he added.
Rising prices disrupt food retailers
The flour supply problems have also affected food retailers that depend on bakeries for their products, according to messages.
Two bakeries supplying bread to a supermarket in Kerman said they no longer had enough flour to continue production, the store's owner said.
“Two of the bakers who supply me called and said there was no flour left and they couldn't bake and deliver bread tomorrow. A famine has officially begun.”
A resident of Karaj also described a sharp increase in bread prices.
“I bought two baguettes and they cost 800,000 rials. The price of flour has also tripled.”
Iran International previously reported on October 8 that residents had described unannounced increases in bread prices and flour shortages in several areas.
Bread prices in Tehran province had risen by as much as 100% for certain varieties by June 23.
The increases have added to the financial pressure on households already struggling with declining purchasing power.
Uncertainty over flour quotas and pricing
The disruption has raised further questions about how flour quotas are allocated and priced for independent bakeries and producers of larger and semi-industrial bread varieties.
Flour allocations to these businesses were suspended about two weeks ago, according to another message received by Iran International.
The sender said suppliers had attributed the suspension to the government's failure to announce new flour prices, leaving bakeries uncertain about when deliveries would resume.
The resident also said certain flour mills were selling supplies on the black market without issuing invoices specifying prices.
Comments by provincial grain officials about flour allocations have added to questions over the distribution system and the availability of supplies.
Iranians are looking to Israel's election as a potential turning point in their country's future, with supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu hoping his victory will bring renewed pressure on the Islamic Republic.
“I wish we, the people of Iran, could vote too,” one Persian-speaking Instagram user wrote beneath a post about Netanyahu.
“I've pledged a thousand salawat and 12 candles for Bibi to win,” another wrote, referring to the Israeli leader by his widely used nickname and to a religious practice involving blessings.
The comments are among hundreds of Persian-language reactions to Netanyahu and Israel's October 27 election, reflecting hopes that the vote could help advance efforts against the Islamic Republic.
The comments, however, are not a representative measure of Iranian public opinion, and Persian-language posts alone do not establish whether their authors live inside Iran or abroad.
For Netanyahu's Iranian supporters, his continued leadership offers the prospect of finishing what they consider unfinished efforts to bring down Iran's ruling establishment.
From nuclear warnings to calls for political change
Netanyahu, born in Tel Aviv on October 21, 1949, grew up in an academic family and spent part of his adolescence in the United States.
After serving in an Israeli military special forces unit, he studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before entering politics. He first became prime minister in 1996, aged 46.
The leader of the right-wing Likud party is Israel's longest-serving prime minister, and confronting the Islamic Republic has been a central feature of his political career.
In September 2012, Netanyahu displayed a cartoon drawing of a bomb at the United Nations, drawing a red line across it to warn about Iran's nuclear program.
The confrontation later extended beyond nuclear warnings.
During the 12-day war in June 2025, Israel struck Iranian military and nuclear facilities. Netanyahu told Iranians that the military campaign could pave the way for them to achieve freedom from the Islamic Republic.
Joint Israeli-US strikes on February 28, 2026, which killed Iran's former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, marked another stage in the confrontation.
Netanyahu’s military actions against the Islamic Republic and his calls for political change in Iran have earned him support among some opponents of the country’s ruling establishment.
Iran has also emerged as a major issue in Israel's election campaign, with Netanyahu's political rivals advocating tougher action against the Islamic Republic and criticizing his failure to eliminate the threat they say it poses.
Netanyahu speaks directly to Iranians
Netanyahu has repeatedly addressed Iranians directly through video messages and Persian-language social media posts, urging them to seek political change and an end to Islamic Republic rule.
During Iran's water crisis in August 2025, Netanyahu promoted Israeli water technology and promised to send Israeli experts to help tackle the country's water shortages following a change of government.
That outreach has continued during the final days of his election campaign.
“The people of Iran deserve to live in freedom, security and dignity,” Netanyahu wrote in a Persian-language Instagram post on Thursday, October 22, five days before Israel's election.
The message came as Netanyahu faced significant political competition at home, even as Persian-speaking users expressed enthusiasm for his continued leadership.
His messages have resonated with some opponents of the Islamic Republic who hope Israeli pressure will contribute to political change in Iran.
How Bibi became Bibi Joon
Netanyahu's familiar nickname, Bibi, has taken on new forms among Persian-speaking admirers.
They call him Bibi Joon, adding a Persian term of affection, or Bibi Gol, a reference to a popular song by Iranian singer Moein.
The phenomenon has also attracted Netanyahu's attention.
Netanyahu himself referred to the nickname during a CBS News interview in May 2026, saying Iranians called him “Bibi-joon,” meaning beloved Bibi.
Netanyahu's standing among Iranians
More than half of respondents inside Iran, 50.6%, held favorable views of Netanyahu, compared with 38.1% who viewed him unfavorably, according to a survey conducted from June 20 to 27, 2026, by the Netherlands-based research group GAMAAN.
The online survey involved more than 31,000 participants and used statistical weighting to produce its findings.
In Israel, 47% of respondents preferred former military chief Gadi Eisenkot as prime minister, compared with 37% who backed Netanyahu, according to a Madad poll published on October 23.
Netanyahu has also received the backing of US President Donald Trump, who urged Israelis to re-elect him to continue their joint campaign against the Islamic Republic.
“Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
Persian-language reactions to Israel's election go beyond support for Netanyahu's re-election, expressing hopes that he will resume military action against the Islamic Republic.
“Why don't you finish the job before the vote?” another asked.
