How do Iranians cope with growing economic hardship?

Al Jazeera Net - Tehran

In a contrasting scene, Iranian citizenship stands out in front of a fruit vendor in a popular neighborhood south of Tehran, asking about the price of damaged fruits packed in boxes on the sidewalk for sale at lower prices. The 50-year-old man, Kuroz Azadi, is choosing the best fruit in the shop, .

She told Al Jazeera Net that she has been living on the aid of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee since her husband died of a heart attack in 2009, but her life became more miserable after the specter of sanctions and the loss of the Iranian currency last year.

Only a poor segment of Iran is living the same situation since the victory of the revolution, but has denied that its lifestyle is related to developments in the US escalation against Iran. .

His daughter-in-law, who could not buy fruit for her two young daughters from cheap shops, went into a trash can to get what she needed for lunch.

Great fortunes
In contrast to the situation of his retirement, there is a growing debate among a number of retirees at the Mellat Park near the towering palaces north of Tehran on the repercussions of US sanctions on the daily lives of citizens, among those who believe that the situation is dark and difficult and those who believe that Iranians can not be under foreign pressure With enormous human and natural resources.

Muhradad and Mohammad Ali (two Iranian retirees) agree that unemployment and poverty have risen, that inflation has jumped to more than 50%, and purchasing power has fallen to low levels. However, Muhammad Ali believes that poverty, unemployment and inflation are not new to the Iranian people. Coexist with him even before US sanctions.

"The sanctions have led to an increase in social and economic problems due to higher prices and the collapse of the national currency compared to foreign currency. The government has failed to contain the repercussions of economic pressures, especially in the sector of cars, housing and imported goods," Mehrdad said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net.

On the other hand, Muhammad Ali believes that Iran is able to solve its economic problems by relying on its own resources, and that the people and the government are joining forces to achieve this goal. All that is rumored about the worsening of poverty and famine in Iran as a result of sanctions is a psychological war aimed at provoking riots.

Currency collapse
"The impact of sanctions on Iranian society and its consequences on inflation and the loss of the national currency can not be underestimated," said activist and social affairs expert Farnaz Mulla Mohammed. "The effect is limited to limited sectors, not all sectors.

She added that the daily life of the Iranian people was not much affected by the sanctions, and that all that the people touch is limited to the disruption of small enterprises and the low value of people.

"The sanctions have prevented the importation of some goods and raw materials for the industrial sector in Iran," Fernar said. "The absence of some special medicines from the pharmacy shelves caused by the sanctions has provoked public outrage towards those who want to punish the people for what they did not already do."

She noted a slight contraction in economic activity and purchasing power during a tour of a shopping mall in the Andrzej region of Tehran, but she still believes that the stark consumer situation is a prominent feature of the Iranian people.

Overcoming sanctions
Tehran has spoken to more than one official that it knows how to circumvent the sanctions it describes as unfair, and that it will continue this path by taking several steps, including trade in goods, choosing intermediary companies, and not allowing America to sell its oil.

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani said at a cabinet meeting that his country would honor the US embargo with pride and pride.

"The signing of monetary agreements with China and other countries is an effective option to get rid of the dollar's dominance in economic relations." Iran has devised new ways to circumvent US sanctions, said Mohammad Reza Bur Ibrahimi, head of the Iranian parliament's economic committee.

Since the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal last year, Iran has begun to adopt various currencies in its trade dealings with other countries to escape US sanctions and neutralize them within the country.

The former member of the Iranian Nuclear Negotiations Committee Mehdi Mohammadi stressed the need to neutralize the sanctions through the mechanism of "Einstex" European trade with Iran, stressing that this mechanism is feasible only if Iran was able to buy prohibited goods and payment and receipt of funds, and buy the European side Through which Iran's oil.

In recent years, Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has launched the term "resistance economy" to boost the national economy in the face of external pressures. He stressed that if the economy is resilient, the decisions of American and Zionist leaders on economic issues will not be effective.

The Supreme Leader and President Rouhani on more than one occasion, concerned parties to implement policies of the economy resistant to overcome obstacles and develop solutions to the challenges facing the country.