Energy
Power outages cripple Iran as public funds flow to regional proxies
While the country's infrastructure is in dire need of repairs and upgrades, the regime sends millions to support Hizbullah, Hamas and the Houthis.
![A man prepares an order using his phone light in the kitchen of a Tehran cafe during a November 12 electricity outage. [Atta Kenare/AFP]](/gc3/images/2024/11/25/48251-Tehran-phone-light-370_237.webp)
By Pishtaz |
New electricity rationing in Tehran and rolling power outages across the country have left the Iranian people in the cold and dark as state funds that could be used to repair dilapidated infrastructure flow to the military and regional militias.
On November 8, the Iranian regime -- one of the world's top military spenders -- announced it was increasing its military budget by "200%."
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accounted for 34% of its total military spending in 2022, per Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data.
On November 11, it began to impose electricity rationing in Tehran and other provinces, blaming a shortage of fuel in power stations, the official IRNA news agency reported.
![An electricity transmission tower in Tehran is seen November 12, a day after electricity rationing went into effect. [Atta Kenare/AFP]](/gc3/images/2024/11/25/48252-tehran-transmission-tower-370_237.webp)
Parts of Tehran were slated to experience two-hour power cuts on a rotating basis between 9am and 5pm, the agency said, with similar cuts scheduled for other provinces including Qom, Kerman, Gilan and Ardabil.
The state-run electricity authority said the decision to impose power cuts was taken because of "the limited supply of gas to fuel power plants" and a government decree "not to use fuel oil in some power stations."
Scant hope for improvement
Repeated power cuts have angered citizens of the Islamic Republic in recent years, especially during the cold winter and hot summer months.
In July, authorities ordered the working hours of government workers to be halved for several days in an attempt to save energy, AFP reported.
Power outages across Iran in the summer months were "exacerbated by prolonged water shortages in several cities, with some areas experiencing disruptions for days," IranWire said in an August 15 report.
"Unlike previous years, when long-term water and electricity outages were scheduled and citizens were notified in advance, this year has seen unannounced disruptions," it said.
New cuts come as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government "confronts the legacy of decades of corruption and infrastructure mismanagement," the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) said in a November 18 report.
"Power outages have increased across Iran over the last few years, but this year’s announcement suggests electricity insecurity in Iran will only get worse," it said.
"Four decades after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran’s real GDP per capita is not back to its pre-revolution level," the FDD said.
"Sanctions are responsible for only a small part of that shortcoming. The people know the real cause is the regime’s unending corruption, mismanagement, and foreign wars."
The overwhelming majority blames Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and his lieutenants for the ongoing electricity crisis, it said.
Greetings and salutations to the supreme leader, the guide of the righteous path, His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, the best of creatures in all existence… And blessings and divine mercy upon the noble soul of the commander of martyrs, Haj Qassem Soleimani, God’s special envoy, and salutations upon the pure spirits of his martyred companions. In my opinion, the principle of the Guardianship of the Jurist (Wilayat al-Faqih) is fundamental. Preserving this system is more obligatory than prayer itself. This is where, if this position is endangered, we are ready to sacrifice our lives thousands of times over for our dear Imam Khamenei. We would die and come back to life repeatedly and declare, “We are at your service, our leader.”
Unlike some who pretend devotion and use Khamenei’s name for their own benefit, we are sincere. There are ten million true followers of Sayyed Ali, devoted to Qassem Soleimani in the truest sense of the word, waiting for the leader to give the command. At his word, they would shake the world.
May Ali be our helper. May Haydar the Courageous and Fatimah al-Zahra, peace be upon her, intercede for us. Sayyed Ali is our beloved…
Sayyid Ali, has a lot of boot-lickers and devotees, most likely you are either a or a sleazeball or conceived by a sleazeball. I don't know where you got the 10 million from, because if one percent, that is, 100 thousand, had been found to go to Lebanon or Gaza, the situation of the Satan Party and the killer Sinwar would not be like this!!! Apparently they haven't changed yet!! Or you don't have eyes or ears!!! I don't blame you for your cowardice!! It's your duty as a sneazeball.
All the problems are because of Khamenei and giving the wealth of the Iranian nation for these wars that have nothing to do with it, and he does not fear God and His Prophet, and does not care at all that this is the biggest theft in history from our unfortunate nation that wanted to have Islam, and embezzlement is another reason for the destruction of the country, and another is these people who are devouring the treasury like a hog, and write comments down here they like this useless article. May God put you in misery and make you pay what you took to treat your cancer, of course, whoever taking the wealth of this nation and sending it to other countries so that the war does not end. But thank God, Bashar in Syria is being defeated and the tent pillar is half broken, and they are completely breaking it. God willing, the spread of oppression and the causes of these power outages will be destroyed soon, God willing
It was good.
It was good, but what was the point?
Considering that all the top officials, from the presidents to the President Raissi and their ministers, Khavari, the least of them, were thieves, and have taken billions in unpaid loans and not given them back. The clergies took advantage of their turbans and the rest of them took advantage of their positions. They looted the treasury and pissed on the miserable nation. The clergies who are beggars by nature and had no reach to the endless treasure are now blinded by greed commit all kinds of crime. and eliminated whoever was a worthy person. Took what they had. The nation cannot protest out of fear of their fratricide brothers. Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Yemen are none other than the Arab and not Iranian nations, and our leader is from the Arabs and gives them our wealth. The Iranian nation and genuine Iranians have lost their rights. And they have no right to protest. They give good news of subsidies every day. But there is nothing. They ripped people off...
There are many poor people in Balochistan in Iran if you want to help.
Lucky, lucky, how miraculously I became the winner of Blue Bank, thank God.
Iran rocks.
Thank God, we have everything, even for foreigners; charity begins at home. We leave our own nation in distress and our politics is foreign-friendly. We are our own guard. What we have belongs to foreigners.