Economic reasons behind protests in Iran, experts say

By Elahe Salari

ISTANBUL

Economic issues are the main reasons behind the recent wave of street protests in Iran, according to experts.

Hossein Kamali, the secretary-general of Islamic Labor Party and Iran’s former labor minister, told Anadolu Agency the reason behind the protests, which began on Dec. 28 last year and spread across the country, was rising inflation.

According to Kamali, the main reason for the protests was worsening of Iranian people’s living standards.

Last Thursday, Iranians took to the streets in the northeastern cities of Mashhad and Kashmar to protest rising inflation and perceived government mismanagement.

These demonstrations were followed on Saturday and Wednesday by large pro-government protests.

At least 23 people have been killed -- including a police officer -- while hundreds more have reportedly been detained.

Kamali suggested that the government should include transparency in the next year’s budget program.

He said that the crisis can be resolved by adopting “transparent politics”.

The former minister also suggested of new businesses in the field of agriculture and mining to address the unemployment issue, which affects the majority of the population.

Mahdi Pazouki, a lecturer at Allameh University in Tehran, said that Iranian economy needed a “discipline”.

He added that Iran could benefit from Turkey’s experience, a country which went through high inflation during the 1980s and today it is among the G20 countries.

The U.S. meanwhile condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the deaths that have taken place during the protests and ongoing detentions, which it said at least one thousand.

"We have ample authorities to hold accountable those who commit violence against protestors, contribute to censorship, or steal from the people of Iran," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

"To the regime’s victims, we say: You will not be forgotten," she added.

Nauert's comments foreshadowed U.S. sanctions announced shortly after her statement. They designate five Iranian entities the U.S. said are involved in Iran's ballistic missile program.

All are owned by Iran’s Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIC), the Treasury Department said. It alleged SBIG is responsible for the development and production of Iran’s solid-propellant ballistic missiles.

"These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.

"As the Iranian people suffer, their government and the IRGC fund foreign militants, terrorist groups, and human rights abuses."