Police Raid On Businesses Leads To Closure Of Major Tehran Mall
In the aftermath of a government crackdown on Kurosh Mall in the western part of Tehran, shop owners have made the decision to shutter their businesses.
In the aftermath of a government crackdown on Kurosh Mall in the western part of Tehran, shop owners have made the decision to shutter their businesses.
Reports suggest that authorities seized merchandise from stores, citing concerns related to smuggling and mandated that all items must be of exclusive Iranian origin, with no presence of recognizable foreign brands.
Social media users view the operation as another move by the clerical regime to tighten financial constraints on the public amid a severe budget deficit.
Iran is currently contending with a considerable infrastructure deficit amounting to $500 billion. The government's operating budget also faces a 50-percent deficit.
The economic challenges in Iran have deepened since the United States withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear accord in 2018 and imposed sanctions. However, the roots of Iran's economic struggles extend further, as the Islamic regime has failed to allocate its substantial oil export revenues towards adequate infrastructure and investments since the 1990s. Despite generating around $1.5 trillion from oil sales over the past two decades, the government now finds itself controlling over 80% of the economy and facing bankruptcy.
Constrained by US oil export sanctions, Iran sells crude at discounted rates to China, earning approximately $30 billion annually, with no significant revenues in hard currencies. The amount falls short of covering the government's annual budget, leaving no funds for essential long-term investments.
While some commentators in Iran, including certain regime politicians, attribute the current economic challenges to President Ebrahim Raisi's administration, this perspective often neglects the impact of the country's foreign policy, typically influenced by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The interior ministry and the Guardian Council that vet candidates, have disqualified almost all so-called reformist and moderate candidates, paving the way for ultraconservatives to win a majority.
The left wing of reformist parties, including the Unity of Nation party, still insist that the restrictive policies of hardliners makes competition almost impossible. However, some conservatives, including Hamid-Reza Taraghi, a member of the Central Council of the conservative Islamic Coalition Party claims that reformists will present a full list of their candidates for the March 1 elections.
Like most regime politicians who have little if any idea of what a fair political competition means, Taraghi says that anyone or any group that seeks a share of political power is opposed to the formation of a strong parliament.
Nonetheless, his argument about reformists coming to the scene with full lists may carry some truth as Javad Heravi, the Spokesman for the Moderation and Development Party, which is close to former President Hassan Rouhani, told the press on Monday that the party will not venture into the elections without a full list of candidates. The party had announced earlier that it might nominate only 16 candidates for the 30 seats in Tehran as not enough of its members have been approved by the government to run for parliament.
Heravi added that there is no point in continuing consultations with the predominantly conservative supervisory institutions that vet the candidates. He said: "We had some 200 candidates but many of them have been disqualified and we have less than 100 candidates left." He added, "The ruling minority in Iran is saying very clearly that they do not want a high turnout in the elections."
He also said that his party might form a coalition with other likeminded groups to present a list of 30 candidates for Tehran and a full list for other constituencies. The Moderation and Development Party and another centrist party, the Executives of Construction, appear to be the only pro-reform parties that are keen to take part in the elections.
Meanwhile, Esmail Gerami-Moghaddam, the spokesman for the reformist National Trust Party stated that although many of its members had registered their candidacy, the number of those whose qualifications have been endorsed by the Guardian Council is so small that the party is not able to nominate any candidates in 90 percent of constituencies. He emphasized that nearly all of the candidates whose qualifications have been endorsed belong to conservative parties.
Meanwhile, conservative politician Amir-Reza Vaez-Ashtiani argued that "Reformists know they do not have grassroot support. Radicals among them, including jailed former Deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh, and reformist theoretician Saeed Hajjarian are now part of the opposition." However, he said, "Moderates are different. They still believe in the revolution [Islamic Republic]."
In another development, reformist politician Gholamreza Ansari said that the Unity of Nation has a voters' base and its members are active all over Iran, but its leaders have brought the reform camp on the verge of dissolution, hoping that in this way this party standing alone can win more votes from among reform-minded voters.
Despite the arguments on both sides, it is not clear if the reform camp is really divided, or it is the government and its conservative supporters who are trying to portray it as a divided group. What is clear is the seasonal nature of all political parties in Iran that are absent for almost three and half years and become active only during the parliamentary or presidential elections.
