Criticism of Raisi government mounts in Iran

Iran President Ebrahim Raisi. [File, Standard]

As the government of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi ends its second year, media around the country are evaluating its performance - largely concluding that not only have the economic objectives gone unfulfilled, but that it also has taken "regressive measures" reminiscent of the past.

In its latest edition published August 5, the Tehran-based newspaper Ham-Mihan detailed the "lack of fulfillment of most major pledges" made by the Islamic Republic's government and emphasized that "reversal and negative trends in key indicators" are evident in many of these promises.

This newspaper, which is aligned with The Executives of Construction of Iran Party, a reformist party, compared the performance of the government with the slogans and promises made by the president and other officials. They referred to the country's official statistics and highlighted that there were no unforeseen external events beyond Raisi's government's control that could have hindered the fulfillment of the promised pledges.

In its report, Ham-Mihan said the country had witnessed significant backtracking in various areas, particularly concerning "inflation, incomes, and people's wages" compared with previous periods. Additionally, the nation has encountered "substantial declines in educational and health institutions," among other challenges.

Since June 2021, during the presidential election campaign, the Raisi and his senior officials have repeatedly pledged to achieve "rapid and revolutionary economic prosperity" in Iran, build "4 million housing units," generate "4 million jobs," and eliminate "absolute poverty" within society.

However, the Tehran-based newspaper Jomhouri Eslami, under the supervision of representatives of Ali Khamenei, published an editorial Saturday in which it criticized the rhetoric and performance of Raisi's government, saying: "How long do you want to attribute the shortcomings to the past?"

The article asserts: "After two years of assuming power, no president can lay blame on the 'previous government' for the current situation, especially when the current government enjoys complete and 100% coordination and unity with other military and nationwide institutions."

"Under such circumstances," the Jomhouri Eslami editorial said, "even one year is ample time to gain 'control over all matters and address all challenges'; thus, after two years, there is no acceptable excuse for the persistence of problems."

Since June 2021, Raisi and his senior government officials have consistently pledged "price control" and "single-digit inflation" while introducing several "economic packages" to "address the pressing economic situation." Nevertheless, all these endeavors have resulted in further price hikes for numerous goods and public services.

As the current government of the Islamic Republic enters its third year, no official statistics have been published regarding the fulfillment of its initial and main promises made by senior officials.

Mohammad Reza Farzin, governor of the Central Bank of Iran, had previously claimed that "in recent months, the growth rate of liquidity and inflation has decreased" and promised a reduction in the inflation rate to "30 percent."

However, Hossein Raghfar, an economics professor at Al-Zahra University, criticized the performance of the Raisi government, saying, "The conditions created in the country are pushing Iran's economy towards collapse."