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| Mehdi Neimi |
Mehdi Neimi emphasizes that even in the period following the Iran-Iraq war, Iran’s economy was not as unstable as it is today. Speaking to Voice of America, the economist states that while the country's economy has always been in a fragile state, today, both embezzlement and corruption within government institutions have increased, and the public no longer has the same level of trust in the state as before.
"Iran's economy is state-dependent and based on rent-seeking. This is considered a sick economy because its foundations were laid incorrectly. As time has passed, its negative aspects have become more severe and uncontrollable," says Mehdi Neimi.
He adds that even after the Iran-Iraq war, the economy was not as shaky as it is now:
"According to figures from Iran’s Central Bank, after the Iran-Iraq war, the inflation rate reached 49 percent. That was the highest rate at the time. However, the economy back then was not as unstable as it is today because it was considered a reconstruction period... If we take the value of foreign currency into account, inflation is now even higher."
Mehdi Neimi states that the public’s trust in government institutions has completely eroded:
"In the past, embezzlement and corruption were not as widespread. Now, corruption has increased even at the lower levels of society."
Some opposition groups claim that the Islamic Republic is "manipulating the value of the dollar." Mehdi Neimi argues that in Iran's fully state-controlled economy, this is entirely possible.
According to him, "Since Iran’s Central Bank lacks independence, the government has a free hand. Because there is no free market or free economy, the state can intervene wherever it wants. It can manipulate the media and feed the market false information whenever it chooses. It is the government itself that controls the flow of dollars into the market."
Neimi highlights the Iranian government's near-total control over foreign currency:
"The Iranian state sells oil and gas in dollars, meaning it earns in dollars but pays salaries in rials... Because of this, a rise in the value of the dollar can actually benefit the government."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
"Xalqın hökumətə etimadı qalmayıb"
