Security
Islamic Republic's military spectacle draws public ire as poverty deepens
Joint naval exercises with China and Russia in Gulf waters highlight regime spending priorities as millions of Iranians face poverty and hardship.
![Navy vessels take part in a joint Iranian-Russian-Chinese military drill in the Gulf of Oman on March 12. [Iranian Army Office/AFP]](/gc3/images/2025/03/19/49609-Iran-Russia-China-370_237.webp)
By Fariba Raad |
The Islamic Republic joined China and Russia for high-profile naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman that heightened regional tensions while fueling domestic outrage over Tehran's military spending at a time of economic crisis.
"Maritime Security Belt 2025," which kicked off March 11, brought together warships and combat vessels from the three nations near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vessels joined two Russian corvettes, a Pacific Fleet tanker and a Chinese destroyer and supply ship, according to their respective defense ministries.
While Iranian state media trumpeted the military collaboration, analysts downplayed its strategic significance.
![Iranian naval forces conduct live-fire exercises during Security Belt 2025 drills in the northern Indian Ocean on March 11. [IRNA]](/gc3/images/2025/03/19/49618-iran-joint-drill-370_237.webp)
"This drill was mainly focused on maritime accident response, including firefighting, search and rescue and counter-piracy operations for civilian shipping," Berlin-based Iranian analyst Babak Taghvaee told Pishtaz.
But the Iranian regime "deliberately used it for political propaganda," he said.
The exercises spotlight Tehran's focus on its foreign agenda: strengthening its alliance with Moscow, which it has supplied with drones used in its war with Ukraine, and Beijing, which has been a major buyer of sanctioned Iranian oil.
Mounting economic crisis
While many Iranians struggle to meet basic needs, public frustration is mounting over the regime's prioritization of military spending over citizens' welfare.
According to the regime's Chamber of Commerce Research Center, nearly 32 million Iranians lived below the food poverty line as of early 2022, Iran Wire reported.
Between 22 and 27% of Iran's population cannot afford basic necessities, according to Labor and Social Security Institute head Ebrahim Sadeghi-Far, who presented the alarming statistics at a January 5 meeting.
"Today, poverty in Iran is not a marginal issue; it has become an undeniable reality affecting a large portion of society," he said.
The Iranian rial has lost 90% of its value against the US dollar since 2018, fueling soaring inflation and severely eroding purchasing power.
In September, Tehran-based Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper reported that a three-person household in Tehran needs at least 200 million rials (approximately $247) monthly to survive.
"We are not poor because of circumstances beyond our control," said Ardeshir, 30, who holds a doctorate in civil engineering but now works as a garbage collector earning the equivalent of $3.50 daily.
"Over the past 40 years, the clerical establishment has systematically driven a once prosperous country to the brink of bankruptcy," he told Pishtaz, asking that his full name be withheld out of concern for his security.
"And now, with barely anything left in the state coffers, they're staging grand military exercises," he added. "To impress whom?"
Hello, I never want to talk about the budget, treasury, and problems of the Iranian government, and I will not allow myself to say without knowing the weaknesses of my country that the ill-wishers, traitors and sellouts take advantage of the nation and laugh at the shame of my country. Please, let us be a little tolerant of the problems so that our honorable and great government can make the right decisions for the prosperity of our great country of Iran. I will sacrifice everything for the sake of the country and the soil of the country's sympathizers, especially our wise leader. May the vast Iran live, endure, and be strong.
The mullahs must disappear so that Iran can become prosperous and powerful.
I only feel sorry for these government thugs who, in their final moments, are still unwilling to repent and return. Woe to the day of the explosion, when none of them, even in the farthest corner of this planet, will be safe from the wrath of this nation.
The real Iranian Islamic revolution, in line with the true religion should restore people's livelihood, freedom and social justice, and liberation from the tyranny of the English-born clerics ruling Iran true fights against falsehood and bring them to the threshold of true liberation from the darkness and false coercion of the English-born rulers who are deceitful, abusers of religion, tyrants, dictators, self-soldiers, and faithless, so that there is hope for freedom and liberation from material and spiritual cultural poverty, lies, forgery, ignorance, and the alienation of the dear people of our blessed and graceful homeland of Iran. And from Allah we seek success.
Very good.
In Iran, 80 million Iranians have been taken hostage, and then Mr. Trump, who boasts of democracy, wants to negotiate with the terrorist and criminal mullahs who have violated all human rights in Iran. Only when this tyranny is lifted will the world be at peace. The people of Iran are at the forefront of the fight against this filthy Islamic Republic, which if it is not curbed and destroyed, will one day falls on each and every one of you who reside in Europe and other places. Please support Iran’ people not the Islamic Republic. I hope you understand.
Something that of course has no buyers is public dissatisfaction.
It's true, without a doubt, that what goes nowhere is just a cry because there is no unity and no voice.
We cannot afford buying, but we can afford selling. We can afford selling our bodies, conscience, and religion with no limit.
Exactly
The Islamic Republic has been repeatedly hit by Russia and China, but it has not yet learned the lesson that they not only abandon Iran for their own interests, but also join the ranks of Iran's enemies.
Thank you so much. The ruling regime in Iran, the problems and misfortunes that befall Iran are all done in phases. These phases originate from the time of the early Islamic era, and a discussion on it requires a lot of time and communication. I would like to say that if Iran's money cannot be given to the Houthis, Gaza, and Lebanon, it will be given to its black friends. If it cannot be given even there, it will be thrown into the sea and destroyed so that it does not reach the Iranians. Because they claim that the Iranians (Persians) should remain hungry for the benefit of Arabs, do investigate this issue to see if this is true or not.
The article only shows the government's mistakes. If you are compassionate towards the nation, think of a solution. It's not just this that was done and that wasn't done. You know the foundation of the system. You are the most responsible for the poor people of this country. If you fail, you must be held accountable. Hearts of the oppressed people of Iran are torn to pieces. Having a piece of bread to eat is just surviving. Young Iranian children are all getting addicted. Come to help.