With the expansion of protests in Iran and the social repercussions of the dire increase in prices and unsolvable imbalances, the regime’s internal crisis has reached a new stage.
Regime president Masoud Pezeshkian, describing the dispute between the Minister of Energy and the Minister of Oil, referred to the proverb of a hard ground and butting bulls, saying: “These ministers of ours sometimes fall short in the oil, electricity, and gas sectors, so they blame each other. We are really facing problems in electricity and gas supply right now. Reserves have also decreased; one won’t give, and the other won’t send reserves. And there’s no way to send reserves at all. The ground is hard; we can’t plow it, so we butt heads with each other” (state-run TV, February 13, 2025).
The first days of Esfand (the last month in the Iranian calendar, corresponds to February 20 – March 20) and Bahman 30 (February 18) saw two consecutive sessions of the regime’s parliament (Majlis), where regime officials expressed fear of a “revolution of the hungry” and the sinking of the regime’s ship.
MP Qasem Ravanbakhsh, while admitting to the smoldering embers of poverty in society, said, “These days, the bones of the people, especially the poor, are being crushed under the wheels of the government’s economic adjustment. In previous administrations, when the exchange rate increased, the government and parliament would think of a solution, but now that the dollar has reached over 900,000 rials and gold coins are over 70 million rials, and medicine, rice, legumes, meat, and essential goods have skyrocketed, no action is seen from the government to control it.”
Javad Nikbin, another member of the parliament, while expressing concern about the explosive state of society and “the events that are happening,” addressed the regime’s president, saying: “These events happening in the country are not the result of sanctions but the result of your wrong decisions in foreign policy, elections, appointments, and all these areas… Twelve hours of motor-pump shutdowns a day means the farmer is ruined. Twelve hours of shutdowns a day means millions of farmers across the country are unemployed… Friends know, government officials know, Minister of Oil, Minister of Energy, know that the price of oil, gas, and electricity has increased by more than 1,500 percent from Mehr (September/October) to today…”
MP Ahad Beitoteh, while warning about the deadly effects of the livelihood crisis for the regime, said, “People are tired of empty promises… Unfortunately, in recent months, we have witnessed an unreasonable and uncontrollable increase in the prices of essential goods, especially items that have the greatest impact on people’s livelihoods… Minister of Economy! Mr. [Abdolnaser] Hemmati! You said that we would raise the Nima dollar (a subsidized exchange rate for importers) to lower the free market dollar price, but you broke the record for the speed of the dollar’s increase. After three months, you have made gold and foreign currency more than 50 percent more expensive. Medicine and essential goods have become more expensive; in less than three months, you have reduced people’s purchasing power by 50 percent…”
Amid the factional infighting, Kamran Ghazanfari, a member of the parliament’s Internal Affairs Committee, announced that members of parliament had filed complaints against Pezeshkian and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Pezeshkian’s Vice President for Strategic Affairs, in the Administrative Justice Court and the Supreme Court of the regime. A significant number of members of parliament also demanded the impeachment of Pezeshkian’s Minister of Economy, Hemmati.
MP Hamid Rasaee went a step further, saying, “Do not impeach Mr. Hemmati. Prosecute him. This is the only way if you want to be honorable before history, before the people, prosecute Mr. Hemmati.”
Finally, on February 19, Ahmad Naderi, a member of the parliament’s presiding board, said, “The impeachment of the Minister of Economy has been submitted to the presiding board by the Economic Commission after necessary reviews, and therefore, with 91 signatures, it has been declared received, and the chairman of the session (Hamidreza Haji Babaei) announced March 2 as the day of impeachment.”
In the same session, MP Mohammad Reza Sabaghian set aside politeness and, while warning about the sinking of the entire regime in the swamp of crises, said, “What is the council of the heads of the three branches doing for critical issues?… Mr. Pezeshkian, you are also clinging to branches and leaves; you will also stop at the same station where previous governments stopped. Dear ones! Let’s not be polite; this ship is sinking. We will realize it when it goes underwater!”
Source » eurasiareview