Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called Tuesday for government officials to put political rivalries behind them and focus on the economy.
"The country's biggest problems are
economic in nature," Khamenei said at a meeting with Mohammad Khatami and
his cabinet members.
Khatami’s Struggle with Faltering Economy, Agence France Presse, August 24
TEHRAN - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami defended his new five-year economic plan on Tuesday.
Khatami said that Iran was seeking 12 billion dollars from abroad in loans and credits.
The plan is aimed at slashing Iran's current 15 percent unemployment rate to 10 percent, he said, and is based on an annual growth rate of six percent and a yearly inflation rate of 15 percent.
But inflation in the Islamic republic is currently racing at just under 20 percent according to official figures, while unofficial estimates put it at more than 40 percent in some sectors of the economy.
Meanwhile unemployment remains especially high among Iran's young, who make up more than 35 million of Iran's 60 million population.
Mohammad-Ali Najafi, head of Iran's Plan and Budget Organization, recently said Iran would have to create some 900,000 new jobs each year to cope with the crisis.
The Islamic republic is struggling
to pay about 13 billion dollars in foreign debt.
Clerical Regime Sanctifies Misuse of Power, Christian Science Monitor, August 18
[The following is excerpts from an article by Richard C. Hottelet, a longtime foreign correspondent for CBS]
Things have been quiet in Iran since the student riots of July. The conservative clergy that runs the country quickly put the lid back on, but the next outbreak is only a matter of time…Their fury showed the urgency and depth of demands for nothing less than the right to crack the official mold and live their own lives....
Iran's condition today is dismal in every respect. Behind restraints on human rights - in dress and behavior - is an economic decline that affects the realities of life.
Since 1979, the population has grown from 35 million to 65 million. The economy hasn't grown near enough to provide the jobs and opportunities of a normal existence. Unemployment is high, and so are prices…
Despite a recent revival of oil prices, the economy is a shambles. Current difficulties cry out for diversification to create jobs - and for foreign investment to create that diversification and those jobs… Investors are repelled by prevailing incompetence, corruption, and mismanagement.
The revolution put most of the economy, some estimates say 80 percent, into the hands of the bloated government which devours subsidies…
Enormous conglomerates like the state foundation that administers the confiscated business properties of the former shah bumble along as they please. Privatization to shake things up is hardly even talked about. An agricultural country, Iran must import food.
Observers speak of systemic corruption by a network of clerics determined
to remain in power and those the clerics select to run the economic machinery.
These people are chosen not for competence, but for loyalty. They are rewarded
with contracts, jobs, and privileges….
Press Questions Khatami’s Honesty: "When And Where Will Khatami Meet Domestic Media?", State-Controlled Tehran Times, August 24
TEHRAN - A morning Persian daily yesterday lambasted the policy of President Seyed Mohammad Khatami and urged him to meet the domestic print media to present facts to them.
The Persian daily, Sobhe Emrooz (Today Morning) in its editorial yesterday urged the President to adopt a transparent policy and announce the two-year performance of the government through the print media of the country….
Now the people are wondering when and where their President is going to meet local media persons who air general public opinion, the daily said….
The policy of President Khatami not to meet with the local media leaves no room for mutual discussions and exchange of views. Sobhe Emrooz said that a comprehensive reporting on the government plan provides an opportunity for the people to asses the performances of the government and give their opinion.