The use of terms such as “line of poverty” and “absolute poverty” have become commonplace in Iran. And state-run media always provide the most optimistic estimates.
The people of Iran, especially the most underprivileged parts of the population, are paying the price of the regime’s mismanagement of the economy. According to the government, the workers of Iran have lost more than 72 percent of their economic capabilities. We’re no longer talking about poverty and absolute poverty—it’s absolute famine.
An Iranian regime official recently admitted, “The government and its officials are faced with a 60-million strong population that is on the verge of absolute famine. This is not a joke—it’s the bitter truth. We must take it seriously.”
On August 15, Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani, Tehran’s city council chief, said, “According to our estimates, more than a third of the population is under the line of poverty and a tenth of the population is under the line of absolute poverty.”
The little orphan boy sheds tears from hunger late night on the streets of Mashhad, northwest Iran, saying only that he’s “upset”.
