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Last week Baku summoned Tehran's interim chargé d'affaires to demand an end to what it called "provocative actions" by Tehran. It followed a fervent anti-Baku speech by a lay Shia eulogist or religious singer, Gholamreza Gholizadeh, at an event in Ardabil, the capital of the northwestern province of the same name.

Tehran-Baku relations are very complex due to religious, ethnic, economic, and political factors including Tehran’s good relations with Armenia, its other northwestern neighbor, and Baku's strong ties with Iran's archenemy, Israel.

The maddah and his controversial speech

Gholizadeh, who leads a Shia mourning society in Ardabil that organizes ceremonies to honor Shia saints—delivered most of his speech in Turki, a language spoken in Iran's northwestern provinces that Azerbaijanis in the Republic of Azerbaijan easily understand.

During his speech, he referred to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as “bastards” and “consumers of illegitimately acquired food.”

The event, broadcast live by Iran’s state-run News Network, was attended by Seyyed Hassan Ameli, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative in the province.

Gholizadeh also declared that Iran would reclaim its former territories in the Caucasus—lost during the Russo-Persian Wars (1651-1828)—and raise the Shia flag there. He further insulted early Islamic figures revered by Sunnis.

Over half the population of the Republic of Azerbaijan follows Shia Islam, but political power largely rests with Sunnis. Baku media often allege that radical Shia groups, such as Hüseynçilər (The Islamic Resistance Movement of Azerbaijan), receive backing from Iran.

The Ardabil event—the first of its kind in the Islamic Republic’s history—commemorated the “martyrs of the Battle of Chaldiran” in 1514. The battle between Iran’s Safavid Shia Empire and the Sunni Ottoman Empire ended in an Ottoman victory.

Criticism of authorities for giving free reign to maddahs

In an editorial on Monday titled “Are Maddahs Free to Say Whatever They Want and Insult Whoever They Wish?” the conservative newspaper Jomhouri Eslami criticized the insults directed at Azerbaijan’s president as both politically and religiously inappropriate.

According to Shia law, calling a person "a bastard" is an offense punishable by eighty lashes.

The newspaper also questioned the relevance of holding an event to commemorate the victims of the Battle of Chaldiran and criticized the failure of provincial authorities, including Ameli, to oversee and regulate such events. All government-approved gatherings in Iran are strictly monitored to ensure compliance with existing policies, though occasional lapses may occur during religious ceremonies.

Ameli who is also a member of the Assembly of Experts and the Friday prayer leader of Ardabil, appointed by Khamenei, took to X on Friday, two days after Baku’s strong reaction to the incident, to argue that the “inappropriate language” used by the maddah should not be construed as representing the Islamic Republic’s official stance.

Ameli’s post received nearly 350 comments, with opinions divided. While some supported the maddah’s highly controversial remarks, others criticized Ameli for failing to intervene during the speech, which he had praised as “epic.”

Critics alleged close ties between Ameli and the maddah’s religious group, with one commenter among the hundreds asking, “Were you not there? Why did you let him swear and insult? Stop this bragging and focus on the country’s progress. We will get nowhere with war and enmity.”

Another user, Gholamreza Tabrizi, claimed to have heard the full audio recording of the speech and warned that, if published, it could spark a diplomatic crisis with Sunni Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, because of its anti-Sunni content.

Under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s three-decade leadership, eulogists have gained prominence in both religious and political spheres. Many “celebrity eulogists” are closely affiliated with ultra-hardline political factions and use state-sponsored events, including Friday prayers, to promote their views.

“The most inappropriate language, the most irrelevant stances, and the most unconventional topics are often raised during Friday sermons,” wrote Hossein Selahvarzi, a former head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, in an X post addressing the Ardabil incident. “These actions frequently have repercussions for the country’s diplomatic apparatus and economy.”

Also criticizing the authorities for the recent incident in Ardabil, Mohsen Gharavian, a conservative politician and cleric, warned the authorities about the political and religious implications of maddahs’ increasing involvement in politics.

“The country’s key political authorities, such as the Supreme National Security Council … should warn these maddahs and thwart such divisiveness to prevent damages and political and social problems in the current sensitive situation in the region,” he said in an interview with the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) published Sunday.

Mohammadreza Zafarghandi added that the government plans to offset currency-driven price hikes by compensating insurance companies to prevent patients from bearing the cost.

Iran is grappling with a dire economic situation as the rial, which has depreciated by over 30% since September, sending ripple effects across multiple industries including the pharmaceutical industry, which heavily relies on the cash-strapped government for hard currency to import raw materials.

While Zafarghandi promised government action on rising medicine costs, Mehdi Pirsalehi, head of the Food and Drug Organization revealed that the government owes 360 trillion rials (approximately $4.47 billion) to the pharmaceutical sector, alongside 200 trillion rials ($2.48 billion) in medical equipment debt.

In July last year the head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce for Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) warned that Iran’s pharmaceutical and medical equipment sectors are struggling to secure both foreign currency and local rials, in an interview with the state-affiliated ILNA news website.

In 2022, Iran’s parliament decided to scrap an annual $9 billion subsidy for essential food and medicines, despite warnings of more inflation and hardship.

The subsidy was introduced in April 2018 when Donald Trump signaled his intention to withdraw from the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran known as JCPOA, and Iran’s national currency began to nosedive.

Before becoming Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian criticized the Raisi administration for eliminating government subsidies, warning that such measures would hinder drug manufacturers from importing the raw materials needed to produce medicines.

Now, as president, Pezeshkian himself plans to cut the allocation for importing essential goods, including agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, and raw materials, to €12 billion, according to the 2025 budget outline released in October.

“The developments in Syria, given their importance and sensitivity, will certainly be among the key items on the agenda during this visit,” Esmail Baghaei said Monday.

Baghaei also reiterated Iran's position on Syria, emphasizing the importance of respecting the Syrian people's decisions.

“Whatever the Syrian people decide must be respected by all countries in the region. Protecting Syria's territorial integrity, unity, and sovereignty is vital for us and the entire region,” he said.

Baghaei stressed that Syria's future must be determined without foreign interference and free from terrorism and violent extremism.

Ebrahim Sadeghifar said almost one in every four Iranians struggles to meet their basic essential needs.

"Today, poverty in Iran is not a marginal issue but has become an undeniable reality that affects a significant portion of society," he said.

On November 17, the Research Center of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, in a report, warned that by the end of 2021, around 32 million people in the country were below the food poverty line. It further cautioned that this trend is rapidly expanding due to severe inflation in recent years.

On October 30, the Parliamentary Research Center also reported an increase in the poverty rate in 2023 to over 30 percent. It added, "Last year, at least one-third of the population could not meet their basic needs and lived below the poverty line."

In his Sunday remarks, the head of the Institute of Labor and Social Welfare which is affiliated with the Labor and Social Welfare Ministry called for examining and addressing the root causes of the expansion of poverty in political, social, and cultural issues.

Sadeghifar said statistics show an increase in school dropouts due to economic and social problems, adding that studies are needed to explain why poverty persists in Iran despite the country's oil resources.

Addressing the country’s persistent power and fuel shortages, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, “The real problem lies in management. One person blames another, and the cycle continues. Until we solve the management imbalance, we cannot resolve the energy imbalance.”

The rare remarks which contradict the official government line blaming the crisis on resource shortages, came as Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi warned of a looming electricity deficit and unprecedented challenges in the coming summer, following a season of widespread blackouts and gas shortages.

With a projected shortfall of 25,000 megawatts of electricity next year, Aliabadi admitted that immediate solutions look bleak.

Ghalibaf spoke about institutional flaws in Iran’s energy sector, attributing inefficiencies to outdated governance structures. “There is an institutional flaw in the energy sector, both in production and consumption, leading to policy mistakes. Our energy governance is flawed,” he said.

Energy Minister Aliabadi acknowledged the gravity of the situation, apologizing for gas shortages and outlining the government’s inability to resolve them in the short term. He cited last summer’s 20,000-megawatt electricity shortfall and warned of worsening conditions.

“Winter’s cold can be endured with warm clothing, but navigating the challenges of summer is not as simple,” he said.

However, Ghalibaf proposed the establishment of an operational center to coordinate between the Oil Ministry, the Ministry of Energy, and Parliament. “To address the energy imbalance, supply and demand must align. While production must be a focus, consumption must also be controlled,” he said.

Gas shortages have also reached critical levels, with domestic consumption exceeding production capacity, resulting in rationing and significant strain on households and industries. Efforts to curb usage, such as a 2-degree reduction in heating temperatures, have saved 45 million cubic meters of gas daily, but structural issues persist, in spite of Iran owning one of the world's largest gas fields.

Widespread impact on citizens and economy

Massoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s President, has also raised concerns over systemic failures in energy management, saying “Iran is experiencing shortages in electricity, water, gas, the environment, and finances, with some of these shortages bringing the country to the brink of a precipice.”

Power cuts in the summer of 2024 caused significant losses for industries, estimated at $11 billion, according to Ali Mahmoudian, head of the National Union of Alternative Fuels.

The closures of schools, universities, and government offices due to energy management have further strained Iran’s economy, costing an estimated $62.5 million per day.

As the country braces for a potentially devastating summer, officials are divided on how best to navigate the crisis. Ghalibaf’s comments that management reforms are key contrasts with the Ministry of Energy’s focus on immediate consumption reduction measures.

Iran now faces the dual challenge of overcoming internal inefficiencies and adapting to the growing energy demands of a population grappling with economic uncertainty and environmental degradation.