Iran International
Faced with an apparent financial crunch to subsidize bread, the Iranian government is gradually raising prices, a move that can have both political and inflationary repercussion.
To avoid public blame and anger the government is trying to redirect the responsibility to provincial officials, although the central government would remain the main decision maker.
Iran's economy minister Ehsan Khanzoudi said on Wednesday that provincial authorities are now authorized to decide the prices of various types of bread, always set nationally before, “based on local circumstances”.
Earlier in September Government Spokesman Ali Bahadori-Jahromi had said in a televised interview that “the government has no plans to increase the price of bread” but added that provincial authorities in the future would be deciding the price of bread with the “approval of the interior ministry.”
Khandouzi also confirmed that provincial authorities need the approval of the interior ministry for increasing the price of bread in their respective provinces and added that the government will “specifically supervise bread prices.”.
Since Iran reduced subsidies for food and medicine last year, the government had repeatedly vowed not to increase bread prices. In May 2022 Khandouzi had stated that an increase in the price of bread was “the President’s redline” and other officials had repeated his promise of keeping the price of bread steady.
The government of President Ebrahim Raisi appears to be delegating the pricing of bread to provincial authorities to minimize criticism of its dismal economic performance including skyrocketing food prices analysts say. Prices rose as much as 100 percent in the past year for ordinary food items.
In early August after weeks of contradictory statements and denials, the government finally confirmed that bread prices had increased in 13 provinces by around 40 percent.
Analysts say the capital Tehran and Tehran Province, the most populous in the countrywith a population of over 13 million, were spared so far for political reasons including possibility of protests.
In the past few days, the price of Sangak, a popular flatbread weighing around 450g, rose by 50 percent from 20,000 rials to 30,000 (around 7 cents) in Tehran and surrounding regions due to a drop in the flour subsidy allocated to bakeries.
Bread prices in Iran might seem cheap by world standards, but any increase in the price of bread can hugely affect impoverished households given that bread is the main staple in Iranians’ diet.
Iranians are the second biggest bread consumers in the world with annually 160kg (350 lb) per person after Turkish consumers with 199.6 kg (440 lb) per person.
Bread consumption in Iran has risen by ten kilos in the past ten years due to higher cost of living that has made rice less affordable to many Iranians, particularly the three lowest-income percentiles.
Iran's food inflation rate, according to World Bank figures in June, stood at 78 percent, placing the country in the fifth place in the world after Venezuela (426%), Lebanon (350%), Argentina (115%), and Zimbabwe (102%). In April Iran had ranked fourth among the countries with the highest food inflation with a food inflation rate of 71 percent.
On May 1, 2022, the parliament voted to allow the government to scrape an annual $10-14 billion subsidy for essential food and medicine despite warnings of higher inflation, which already stood at around 40 percent, and hardship for the most vulnerable. This led to a ten-fold increase in the price of flour.
The government of President Raisi then introduced a “smart plan” to continue the bread subsidy and issued digital cards that have to be used at the time of purchase, arguing that the plan would prevent the smuggling of subsidized flour and bread to neighboring countries where they sold at much higher prices.
Earlier in June the Bakers’ Union revealed that subsidized flour allocations to some bakeries had dropped by more than half their quota. Bakers say despite the lower cost of subsidized flour, other production costs (labor, other ingredients including yeast and oil) have increased, and their sales have dropped so much in the past year that they are not able to make a profit even by using subsidized flour.
On Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf announced that the bill was approved for a "three-year trial run" following coordination and a written confirmation by the judiciary.
The contentious bill's content was finalized by a committee of approximately 10 lawmakers making the best use of an obscure regulation known as Article 85. The only aspect voted upon was the duration for the trial implementation. During the Wednesday session, 152 MPs voted in favor, 34 voted against, and seven abstained.
Article 85 of the constitution enabled the parliament to effectively sideline opposition by restricting discussions on the bill to an internal committee. Under normal circumstances, the parliament cannot delegate its legislative authority. However, in necessary cases -- through Article 85 -- it can assign an internal committee to draft specific laws. The committee's decisions are then sent to the Guardian Council, whose members are chosen by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. If the council deems the decisions to be in line with the Constitution, they can be implemented in the country for a specified period as determined by the parliament.
Initially comprising only 15 articles, the "Hijab and Chastity" bill was sent to the Islamic Consultative Assembly by the administration of Ebrahim Raisi. It has since expanded to include 70 articles. The bill was proposed after months of nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody last year, allegedly for breaching hijab rules.
The bill outlines a wide range of punishments and penalties for individuals who defy hijab laws or even criticize compulsory hijab rules, whether online or offline. Even mocking the hijab on social media or elsewhere is subject to specific fines, and offenders may face a ban on leaving the country for up to two years. Additionally, various organizations, including the state broadcaster, are mandated to regularly report on their "duties" related to hijab enforcement to the parliament, interior ministry, or the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution.
The approval of the legislation comes amid mounting concerns raised by human rights experts and organizations who argue that the Islamic Republic is employing the bill as a tool for systematic discrimination against women and girls, with the aim of coercing them into unwavering compliance with the government's dictates.
Legal experts say the hijab bill violates not only civil rights but also the Constitution and requires vast resources beyond the government’s means.
Human rights advocates have warned that the bill's implementation could lead to “increased violence, harassment, and arbitrary detentions of women and girls in Iran.” Both the United Nations Human Rights Commission and the UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran have issued statements this month expressing their concerns over the potential consequences of this bill on the rights and freedoms of Iranian women.
“The legislation proposes increased fines and prison terms for women and girls found in breach of mandatory veiling provisions. It also proposes harsher punishments including travel bans, vehicle confiscations, the denial of education and public services, including medical facilities, and sanctions against businesses,” read the statement by the fact-finding mission.
The uprising sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 has made it increasingly difficult for the clerical regime to enforce the mandatory Islamic dress code. Since the beginning of the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement, tens of thousands of girls and women have shed their compulsory hijab. The regime seeks to criminalize hijab defiance, but no branch of government wants to solely shoulder the responsibility for complications of such a provocative and risky action in society.