Fact Check: Did Iran Introduce a $7 Payment to Quell Recent Unrest?

Beyond the Headlines: How American Media Distorted Iran’s Direct Subsidy Reform

Did Iranians Really Receive a $7 Subsidy to Quell Protests? American Media’s Falsehood.

In the wake of recent protests in Iran over inflation and citizens’ livelihood and welfare issues, demonstrations and unrest occurred in the country. According to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, these demonstrations were legitimate and represented the people’s right. However, in this instance, similar to previous protests where Western governments—particularly the American and Israeli regimes—interfered, the rightful and peaceful protests and legitimate demands of the people were derailed by mercenary elements and the inappropriate and erroneous interference of Western governments. This led to street riots and chaos, preventing people from properly voicing their rightful demands during the protests. This is indicative of the disregard for human rights by Western governments, especially the United States and Israel, who even deny people the opportunity to raise their voices and hold proper protests for their welfare. Through their undue interference, they obstruct the fulfillment of the people’s rights.

Meanwhile, for several months now, the Iranian government under President Dr. Pezeshkian has been seeking to reform currency corruption and rent-seeking practices. Consequently, the Iranian government has announced for months that a portion of the cash dollars allocated for imports of certain essential consumer goods was not reaching the people due to corrupt practices by some officials. Given the importance of this issue and staple goods such as chicken, eggs, meat, and oil in the Iranian household basket, the government declared that instead of providing currency to importers to lower the prices of these goods—a practice that had become mired in corruption—these funds would be paid directly to the people. This means the government, based on its estimates, was allocating the equivalent of less than $7 per person to importers, which amounted to a significant sum on a large scale. However, the importers were receiving the currency without reducing the prices of the goods. Therefore, the government directly paid this subsidy to the people so they would not face difficulties in affording these few essential items.

Amidst this, many global news sites and agencies aligned with American and Israeli policies mistakenly and deliberately claimed that this payment was made to silence the protesters. This interpretation constitutes an insult and a media error by these news outlets.