World Threats

These from our friends in Iran.

Bandar Abbas, Jan. 1, 2011. There are many trucks in Bandar Abbas that are just parked and their contents are rotting because the price of fuel is too high. Before subsidy cuts they had to pay 50000 tomans for gas oil per round trip but now it costs 250000 and many of truck owners are not able to pay such great amount of money.

Hamedan, Dec. 31, 2010. In protest against the announced taxi rate Hamedan Taxi drivers protested in front of the Governor’s Office. They said that this rate will not compensate for the fuel cost and all their income goes for the fuel.

Tehran, Jan. 2, 2011. The Central Bank has reported: “during the first day of subsidy cuts, more than 10% of the deposited money, substitutes for subsidy cuts, has been withdrawn from the banks. Entrance of this amount of cash in the society will cause inflation and is a serious threat for the goals of this plan. It will turn to a great social-economic crisis. In Tehran’s and other cities’ Bazaar there is not enough food and people are referring to whole-sellers”.
Ministry of Roads: Transportation reported to the Subsidy Headquarters: “transportation is very slow throughout Iran right now. Transportation of goods from their entrances towards Tehran and centers of other provinces is disrupted. Bandar Abbas custom’s bureaucracy and stores are out of their normal order because the goods are not evacuated from the stores. The cost for transportation of goods has risen more than 3 times…Truck Union is about to announce national strike. The ministry of intelligence has threatened some of the officials of the union to prevent this strike”. In a report sent to Tehran’s Municipality it is said that Tehran’s Taxi-Drivers Union has threatened that it will hold a national strike. This threat has made regime’s officials worried.

Tehran, Jan. 1, 2011. The execution of ‘Subsidy Overhaul Plan’ and unbelievable rise in prices of necessary goods is putting a lot of pressure on people. The rate of bread announced by the regime shows double to triple rise in its price:
Lavash Bread from 35 to 100 tomans per piece
Tafton Bread from 90 to 200 tomans per piece
Barbari Bread from 100 or 150 to 300 tomans per piece
Sangak Bread from 170 to 400 or 7oo tomans per piece
And these prices are for low quality bread.
The price of each kg of flour has reached from 7.5 to 350 tomans. Many people are not even able to buy bread.
Taxi rates have risen twice or three times on one hand and on the other hand taxi drivers are protesting the announced rates and are sitting-in, for example in Hamedan.

Tehran, Dec. 31, 2010. In an exclusive at regime’s TV on Dec. 30th Hadad Adel talked about the uprising after last year’s election: “they took into the streets not only one or two days… they stepped forward even further and spoke of opposing the constitution…after a while it wasn’t about the election, fraud and presidency they spoke of opposing the Revolution itself and the Imam himself…. On Qods Day they took into the streets chanting ‘neither Gaza nor Lebanon (I will sacrifice my life for Iran)’ while the Qods Day is appointed by Imam…. Around my home there were some houses that its inhabitants chanted Allah O Akbar at nights. Nobody did anything about that…”

Tehran, Dec. 31, 2010. On Thursday Dec. 30 Mullah Haydar Moslehi, clerical regime’s Minister of Intelligence claimed in Ray Township that 17 billion and 700 million dollars has been dedicated for regime being overthrown. IRNA state-run news agency counted the deep disputes of those inside the Establishment as the main factor of ‘sedition’ and said: “…we must truly investigate about those personalities who claim that they are with the revolution and the Establishment”.

Baloochistan, Dec. 31, 2010. The notorious agents of regime’s Intelligence Ministry besieged Kohnook Genijan Dep Village in Baloochistan, in Kohoon region and started searching the houses and offending the villagers. The villagers protested against the act and were consequently shot at by the agents. Accordingly one of the villagers called Shahibak was killed by 3 bullets and his younger brother, Molavi Khalid was arrested and transferred to an unknown location.

Analysis. The removal of subsidies may be the straw that breaks the Ayatollah’s back. In a regulated economy such as exists in Iran right now, the basic necessities must be subsidized in order for the people to afford them. In the case of petroleum products, transferring the real cost of these items to the people means that commerce grinds to a halt. The government may not be able to fully reimburse the people for the increased costs if it wants to do something else with the money. It is becoming clear from the information posted here over the time since the official removal of the subsidies that Iran’s economy is descending quickly into chaos. This may be what unites the people to throw off the yoke of the imams.