By Omar | 2025-03-07

The economic crisis Iran has been grappling with for years has taken yet another turn for the worse, with the recent dismissal of the country's Economy Minister a sign that simmering public discontent is on the verge of boiling over.

The Iranian parliament (Majles) dismissed Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati on March 2, with 182 of 273 lawmakers voting for his removal.

Hours later, Strategic Deputy Javad Zarif resigned from President Masoud Pezeshkian's cabinet as the exchange rate with the US dollar surpassed 920,000 rials on the parallel market, up from 600,000 in mid-2024.

Inflation stands at 32%, per the Iranian Statistics Center, while the annual minimum wage stands at 111 million rials (roughly $120 a month), according to the regime's official news agency IRNA.

"With my 15 million toman salary (one toman equals 10 rials) at the auto repair shop, what costs am I supposed to cover?" a Mashad resident who gave his name as simply Arash told Pishtaz.

"I haven't been able to buy meat for two weeks, and now even potatoes have become a luxury for us," the 36-year-old said.

"The Islamic Republic has completely failed in managing the country's economy," he added. "Firing one minister and resigning another is just a show that does nothing to solve our problems."

"We have to pay up to 100,000 tomans for a kilo of potatoes," said Javad, another Mashad resident who gave his first name only.

"Buying potatoes, onions and bread has become a challenge, let alone affording meat at 600,000 tomans per kilo," the 32-year-old told Pishtaz.

"Iran is a wealthy country with vast natural resources, yet finding enough to eat has become a struggle for us."

Deepening crisis

The regime's economic crisis deepened with the collapse of the Syrian regime, erasing Tehran's two-decade investment of up to $40 billion overnight.

This figure does not include Tehran's military assistance or weapons shipments to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, according to the New Arab.

"The Islamic Republic spent billions on al-Assad, Hizbullah, Hamas, the Houthis and other proxy groups to advance its ideological goals," Zahedan resident Amir, 27, told Pishtaz, also giving only one name.

"But nearly all these proxies have been defeated and the money spent has gone to waste," he said. "If these funds had been invested within the country, the economy would have grown, and the toman wouldn't have lost so much value."

"It is shameful that the regime still speaks about 'resistance' and its proxy groups while the Iranian people struggle to afford basic necessities," said a 35-year-old Kerman resident who gave his name as Hamoon.

"Our oil and gas revenues flow into the hands of terrorists while the regime shows complete indifference to its people's suffering."