Iran's Housing Crisis: Soaring Rents Leave Citizens Struggling

“American student protestors being brutalized by US security forces have a much greater claim to protecting Palestinians than the Custodians of Holy Mosques,” he wrote in his Sunday tweet.

However, Zarif's comments quickly sparked outrage on social media, particularly in light of recent revelations concerning the sexual assault and murder of 16-year-old Nika Shakarami by agents of the Islamic Republic. Critics accuse Zarif of being complicit in the crimes of the regime he once represented.

Ashkan Kalashy, responding to Zarif's post, highlighted the hypocrisy of his statement: "Seriously? You were the foreign minister of one of the most brutal regimes in the world. During your tenure, more than 1,500 protesters were killed in less than a week. How can you talk about US students with a straight face?"

Another user predicted Zarif's imminent accountability in court for his involvement in the regime's actions against humanity.

“Javad you are finished. You will be very soon seen in courts for being a partner in crime of IR devastating acts against humanity. We will take back our lovely IRAN from you occupiers. You came to an end, you are finished Javad,” he wrote.

The conversations reveal a deep-seated resentment towards a figure once seen as the diplomatic face of Iran.

Pro-Palestinian student protests across the US have been manipulated by the regime to reinforce its anti-Israel rhetoric. American students have been organizing rallies and sit-ins, pushing their institutions to disclose and divest from investments associated with Israel.

Iranian officials have expressed support for the protesters, which has cast a spotlight on the Iranian regime's apparent hypocrisy. While the regime publicly champions the freedom of expression of American students, it simultaneously suppresses the voices of its own citizens who dare to speak out.

The border fortification plan, which was revealed last month, entails building a four-meter concrete wall, along with barbed wire, fencing, and proper roads along the northwestern and eastern borders, all scheduled for completion within the next three years.

Rezaei highlighted, "This initiative specifically targets areas known for frequent illegal activities, including drug trafficking and the movement of outlaws, as well as potential terrorist threats."

Iran's Deputy Interior Minister, Majid Mirahmadi, announced last week an investment of three billion euros to "quickly start sealing the borders," amidst ongoing clashes with Taliban forces.

"This comprehensive effort includes the installation of fences, walls, and intelligent border control systems, ensuring a robust defense of our national borders," Mirahmadi added.

Tensions along Iran's borders have been highlighted by multiple incidents, including the capture and subsequent release of five Iranian border guards by Taliban forces on April 25 as tensions escalated in recent months.

The eastern borders of Iran have also been troubled by the intensified activities of the insurgent Sunni Baluch group, Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which advocates for enhanced rights and improved living conditions for the Baluch ethnic minority.

The group has been a consistent source of tension with Iran. In response to attacks attributed to Jaish al-Adl, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has conducted cross-border operations into Pakistan, which have led to retaliatory attacks.

Jaish al-Adl was responsible for multiple attacks in the Sistan-Baluchistan province in recent months, which resulted in the deaths of Iranian law enforcement officers.

A report published Friday by the Organization for the Defense of Free Flow of Information (DeFFI) highlights a surge in repression against journalists during April 2024. Documenting 44 new cases filed against journalists by Iranian state authorities, with updates on 49 existing cases, the report underscores a systematic effort by the authorities to silence dissenting voices. This surge in repression coincides with recent events including tensions with Israel and heightened enforcement of hijab regulations on women.

Earlier Friday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) placed Iran at 176th rank out of the 180 countries assessed, in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index, placing the country below China and just ahead of North Korea.

Speaking on the matter at the Nobel Peace Center's event on World Press Freedom Day Friday, Nahid Persson Sarvestani, Swedish-Iranian filmmaker, likened Iran to "a big prison for everybody, especially for journalists," additionally emphasizing the challenges faced by citizen journalists like Ghazaleh Chalabi, who was shot and killed by state security forces while filming protests in 2022. She added that the risks extend beyond Iran's borders, as exemplified by the case of Pouria Zeraati who was stabbed outside his London home recently.

In another report from the Midpoint School of Journalism, extensive repression against Iranian journalists over the past year is detailed. Documenting over 226 cases, the report highlights various forms of persecution, including arbitrary summons, arrests, physical assaults, and security threats. These incidents often targeted journalists covering contentious issues such as women's rights, economic struggles, and significant security incidents.

The involvement of security institutions, government agencies, and the judiciary in pressuring and threatening journalists is evident. Instances of pressure extend beyond Iran's borders, with allegations of targeting journalists abroad, including assassination plots.

Overall, these reports paint a grim picture of the challenges faced by journalists in Iran and the lengths to which authorities go to suppress dissent and control information.

Amidst the release of these reports coincided with World Press Freedom Day, US Department of State’s official Persian language X page paid tribute to Iranian journalists in Iran facing governmental pressures including Nilufar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi, and Nazila Maroufian, applauding them for their bravery in reporting under difficult circumstances.

Paradoxically, the Spanish, Romanian, and Slovenian embassies in Iran, shared a message on their X pages for World Press Freedom Day, claiming to “honor journalists and media workers who report the truth, often at their own risk". Notably absent from their message were references to the arrests, bans, media outlet closures, and other forms of persecution faced by journalists in Iran.

The ban extends similar restrictions previously placed in cities like Arak and Tabriz and was reportedly influenced by an incident in Arak where a female fan without mandatory hijab, referred to as a 'jimmy jump', embraced Esteghlal FC's goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini at the end of a match.

Additionally, recent tensions escalated during a match between Persepolis and Sepahan FC, where verbal altercations between female fans of Persepolis and male fans of Sepahan further complicated the situation.

The newspaper Etemad highlighted what it describes as a "strange project" to re-ban women from stadiums, suggesting that each minor incident is being used as a pretext to justify broader restrictions.

"This time, a general directive to ban women's entry to stadiums will not be issued. Instead, any small or significant incident in any stadium will be used as a pretext to ban women's entry to that particular stadium. Later, it will probably be told to FIFA that women's entry to stadiums is not banned, but in a specific stadium, it has been temporarily suspended until the infrastructure is improved in the near future," wrote Etemad.

Conversely, the conservative Kayhan daily, which has ties to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, supports the exclusion of women from stadiums. It argues that the environment at football matches makes the spaces unsuitable for families and women.

The ongoing debate over women's presence in stadiums has been a contentious issue in Iran, with FIFA pushing for inclusivity for several years. Despite occasional relaxations allowing limited female attendance, persistent barriers continue to restrict their full participation, often under the guise of protecting cultural values or awaiting infrastructural upgrades.

According to one merchant interviewed by Sobh-e Sahel, the increase compounds the already significant strain on the country's production and industrial sectors due to ongoing inflation and international sanctions.

The assembled crowd chanted slogans like "We object" and demanded the revocation of the new tax directives.

The protest comes on the heels of similar actions earlier in the week when gold retailers in cities such as Tehran, and Tabriz either shut down or scaled back operations to voice their discontent with the government’s tax policies and legislative attempts to impose higher taxes.

A local retailer told Sobh-e Sahel that in addition to a base 20 percent tax on goods, merchants are compelled to add another 10 percent in VAT, a policy that significantly diminishes the purchasing power of consumers.

The broader economic context in Iran remains grim, with numerous reports over the years highlighting a sharp increase in poverty and the deteriorating financial conditions faced by its citizens.

As the government prepares to implement new tax regulations across several sectors such as gold, currency, housing, and automobiles, discontent continues to rise.

On April 22, the Etemad newspaper criticized the newly imposed taxes as exacerbating the issues, suggesting that such fiscal policies could deepen poverty and expand the impoverished demographic within the country.