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By Reuters
GENEVA (Reuters) – More and more Iranians are using social media to express their anger at what they view as the corruption and extravagance of a few privileged, while the majority is struggling to get out of it in an economy facing tougher sanctions in the United States.
PHOTO DE DOSSIER: Iranian rials, US dollars and Iraqi dinars are seen in a foreign exchange shop in Basra, Iraq, November 3, 2018. Photo taken on November 3, 2018. REUTERS / Essam al-Sudani / MANILA BULLETIN
The country has been hit by a wave of protests over the last year, some violent, but as economic pressures increase, people increasingly show the rich and powerful, including clerics, diplomats, the leaders and their families.
Seyed Mahdi Sadrossadati, a relatively obscure ecclesiastic who has collected 256,000 subscribers on his Instagram account with a series of scathing messages targeting elite children, is one of the people channeling this resentment.
In a recent post, he criticized the "luxury life" of a Revolutionary Guards commander and his son, who posted an online selfie in front of a tiger lying on the balcony of a mansion .
Openly criticizing a known member of the powerful military unit that responds to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is in itself an unusual act of defiance.
"A house tiger? What is going on? Writes Sadrossadati. "And this from a young man of 25 who could not acquire such wealth. People have difficulty getting diapers for their child. "
The Iranian rial has reached 149,000 against the US dollar on the black market used for most transactions, against about 43,000 in early 2018, the US President Donald Trump having promised to withdraw from the nuclear deal concluded between Tehran and the world powers. curb its nuclear program.
This has dramatically increased the cost of living and made imports less accessible, while the threat of financial sanctions from the United States has caused many foreign companies to withdraw from Iran or to remain in the country. # 39; gap.
The situation could worsen if new sanctions come into effect this week.
"SULTAN OF PIECES"
Aware of the growing frustration with the relative wealth of some of the 81 million population, Khamenei has approved the creation of special courts specializing in financial crimes.
Courts have issued at least seven death sentences since their installation in August, and some of the trials have been broadcast live on television.
Among those sentenced to death was Vahid Mazloumin, dubbed the "sultan of the coins" by the local media, a merchant accused of manipulation of the currency market and allegedly taken with two tons of gold coins, according to the report. Iranian news agency "Students News Agency" (ISNA). ).
The harsh sentences, however, have not been enough to dispel the frustration with the presence of senior officials and religious in the line of fire.
"As the economic situation deteriorates, people are looking for someone to blame and thus take revenge on the country's leaders and officials," said Saeed Leylaz, an economist and political analyst based in Tehran.
Washington is likely to see signs of pressure on the Iranian political and religious establishment, as it hopes that by squeezing the economy, it will be able to force Tehran to halt its nuclear program and forgo military and political expansion. in the Middle East.
Public anger among Iranians has been rising for some time.
Demonstrations against economic hardship began late last year and have spread to more than 80 cities and have caused at least 25 deaths.
CLERIQUES
In addition to his written contributions, Sadrossadati posted video debates between himself and some of his critics.
In one of them he confronted Mehdi Mazaheri, the son of a former central bank governor, who was criticized online after the publication of a photo showing him wearing a big gold watch.
In a heated exchange, Sadrossadati shouted, "How did you become rich? With how much money have you started and how much do you have now? How many loans did you have?
Mazaheri, barely able to get an answer, said that he would be willing to share documents on his finances.
The children of more than a dozen other officials have been criticized online and are often referred to as "aghazadeh" – literally "noble" in Farsi, but also of derogatory terms used to describe their perceived extravagance.
High level clergymen have also been targeted.
Mohammad Naghi Lotfi, who held the prestigious position of Friday prayers officer at a mosque in Ilam, western Iran, resigned in October after being criticized on social media for being photographed going out of a luxury sports vehicle.
Facebook posts have described Lotfi as hypocritical, highlighting the ways in which ordinary Iranians could weather the economic crisis in his speeches. The outcry has been an important factor in his decision to resign from his position for 18 years.
"The hype that was presented against me in this position … made me resign, lest the position of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution be damaged," Lotfi told the media after his resignation.
"The vehicle issue … was all the lies they created in cyberspace," he added.
He was one of four religious at least in charge of Friday prayers who had resigned over the past year after being accused on social media of profanation or financial irregularity.
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