Ahmadinejad Named To Be Responsible for Problems

Rooz Online

The ripples from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s press conference last week and his remarks about the economic problems of Iran continue across the political spectrum in Iran. Now, Friday prayer imams, Majlis deputies and more Principlist (conservative) groups have joined the critics of Ahmadinejad and his administration and expressly say that he is responsible for the hard economic conditions facing the nation. Some have even said that the president underestimates the intelligence of people and thinks they are naive.

A member of the economy affairs committee in parliament, the Majlis, said that the administration was incapable of managing the economy of the country and called for a higher panel to take over this function.

Over the past few weeks not only has inflation sky-rocketed the price of essential goods, the value of the Rial vis-à-vis the Dollar has dropped dramatically, to 40 percent by some accounts. Riots and demonstrations broke out for the first time last week, which included Tehran’s main trading district, the bazaar that prompted the use of tear gas by the police. More recent reports indicate that foreign exchange dealers who provide Dollars and other foreign currency to business, industry, travelers, etc have stopped working because of the government attacks and unpredictability of the foreign exchange rates.

Ezatollah Youseffian, a member of the Majlis plan and budget committee has said in this regard, “To say that what has been happening in the foreign currency market is the work of currency dealers and sanctions is not at the level of the president who is responsible for the executive affairs [of the state]. Nobody denies the impact of sanctions and inflation, but the main issue is management because no preparatory plans have been thought through.”

His words are a reference to the remarks that Ahmadinejad made in his press conference when he said that the fluctuations in the currency market were caused by the psychological war and some security measures and presented the government not to be at fault in this regard.

In another related development, Ismail Jalili, another member of Majlis’ plan and budget committee also said, “The government lacks the ability to manage the market,” and added, “We need a committee above the government that mandates the government or one which takes over from the government the management of the economy so that we can attain a secure and balanced economy.”

Saeed Ghasemi, a member of the Revolutionary Guards Corps also criticized Ahmadinejad over his management of the market and said, “What is the story of the worn-out Dollar, a piece of paper that lacks backing that brings tension to society every day and pins officials against each other. This is a British plot that is divisive.”

And he continued by addressing Ahmadinejad with these words: “My dear brother, you have launched a new model or they have launched it with you, but I want to say that your time is up. The postures that you have and mentioned some of them on your trip to New York, are double edged and signal a green light and pulses to the other side. Therefore, your positions bother us. Because of this I want to ask you to revert your posture and change your message. The model that you are pursuing had been tried by others in the past and Mr. Ruhollah (Khomeini) stopped it. If people wanted to be servants of America and have relations with America why would they revert to a revolution? People’s votes to you were centered on justice. So be aware that this is not the time for such ideas. If in this manner you are trying to say that contrary to the message of the supreme leader who said we are in ‘Badr’ conditions [good times during prophet Mohammad’s period], we are in fact in ‘Shoabe Abitaleb’ conditions [difficult and testy conditions], and convey the message that his understanding regarding the sanctions is wrong and thus impact the nation, I would like to say that our hair has not grayed without maturity and we are completely alert.”

Majlis member Elias Naderi echoed this criticism of Ahmadinejad. In an interview with Alef website, he has said, “Unfortunately we see in recent months some actions in the executive branch that are not acceptable. Not that we deny international pressure but that the events that are taking place in the bazaar are not natural and so stem from sanctions and external pressure. Some indicators show that unfortunately mismanagement inside the country is causing this and disrupts the market. A realistic look at the sanctions, and economic and political pressure of the enemy should indicate what has been the impact on our economy and domestic bazaar. But why do some government officials place a central focus on this and present it as the first source for the current situation?”

Similarly, appointees of ayatollah Khamenei too are now criticizing the government across towns in the country. Ahmad Khatami, the ad hoc Friday prayer leader of Tehran and a member of the Experts Assembly on Leadership that monitors the work of the supreme leader and has the legal authority to remove or select the supreme leader, also said the roots of the current economic problems stem from “mismanagement” and has called for unity within the three branches of government to resolve this issue.

The Friday prayer leader of Isfahan also criticized Ahmadinejad’s remarks on the economy at his press conference, which he said caused the protests of bazaaris.

The Friday prayer of Mashhad Ahmad Elm al-Hoda who is known to be a supporter of Ahmadinejad joined his critics and said that the president was responsible for the economic problems of the country adding that he should made preparations for the pressures from the imperialists. “If you knew that you could not confront these issues and crises but told people that you could, then you have betrayed the people. If you can do something but are refraining from intervening, then you are ruled a hypocrite.”

The Friday prayer of Qom Reza Ostadi who is also a member of the influential Qom Seminary Teachers Association also pointed the finger of blame over current economic issues on the authorities. Friday imams in the towns of Khoramabad and Zanjan have also criticized the administration for the crisis.