Afra experiences a feeling of relief and appreciation for life every morning when he wakes up in Tehran and sees that the ceasefire between the United States and Iranin effect since April 8, is still in place. “Thank God, the war has not started again,” is the first thought of this 31-year-old woman.
When the US and Israeli airstrikes began on February 28, Afra was still traumatized by the repression and deaths of the January protests, originally motivated by the difficult economic situation. These financial difficulties are still present today, further aggravated by the war. What this woman wants most now is to stop suffering every day from the ravages of rampant inflation.
The people interviewed for this report share that feeling of economic asphyxiation and they show their reservations when it comes to expressing their political opinions. Finally, one party decides either not to answer this journalist’s questions or to ask that neither her full name nor her photograph be published.
Afra explains that he was planning to buy a car that cost 7 billion rials in January, about 4,500 euros. Now, it sells for more than double that. “It was a challenge for me to buy that car in installments. Today it is an impossible mission,” he explains.
As talks between the United States and Iran go through numerous ups and downs and the threat of a resumption of military operationsthe Iranian currency dances to the tune of the back-and-forth negotiations and the population accuses the coup. The annual inflation rate stood at 53.7% at the end of the first month of the Iranian calendar, which ended on April 20. But in those first four weeks alone, prices rose 73.5%, according to official figures.
The war also forced Afra to close its gym, its source of income, between March 10 and 23. When it reopened, many customers did not return, as American and Israeli fighter jets continued to fly over the capital.
Now we no longer go out or invite anyone home. We meet with friends after dinner so that no one feels the financial pressure of having to spend on food
Afra, resident of Tehran
Since the start of the war and citing security reasons, the authorities left the country (of about 90 million inhabitants) without internet. People who illegally provide a VPN connection charge “exorbitant fees,” explains Afra, who cannot afford that cost, like most young Iranians or entrepreneurs with modest businesses. In his case, his gym’s Instagram page was his main tool to make himself known.
In recent weeks, this woman has spent through very difficult times in the midst of the bombings that targeted the main leaders of the Islamic Republic, as well as senior military commanders and military, nuclear, industrial and energy facilities. “When they bombed near our neighborhood, I closed the gym immediately. The clients ran out just as they were, half naked, scared and screaming,” Afra recalls.
At that moment, he was certain that the war was going to change his life. “Now we no longer go out or invite anyone home. We meet with friends after dinner so that no one feels economic pressure of having to spend on food,” he explains. Because before, ordering two pizzas and two portions of fries cost 15 million rials, just under 10 euros, and now it would take 12 million to buy just one pizza and one portion of fries.
Economic problems grip the population. On the occasion of May 1, Alireza Mahjoub, secretary of the Chamber of Workers, declared on state television that salaries should be increased monthly given the level of inflation. “We cannot wait a year. Salaries are not enough to cover living expenses,” he said.
On the other hand, there has been an increase in the number of dismissals in recent weeks, citing the growing difficulties linked to the war, although those responsible for the workers recall that the economic situation was already complicated before the war.
“There are authorities who speak as if people do not have serious economic problems or go hungry. Our workers and retirees do not have houses or luxury cars and they endure extreme pressure with a lump in their throat,” said the deputy secretary of the Chamber of Workers, Hassan Sadeghi, in statements published by the official ILNA agency.
Caught between political interests
On the streets of Tehran, shops and cafes are open and receiving abundant customers. Beyond the demonstrations that are organized practically every afternoon and bring together a few hundred people in support of the leaders of the Islamic Republic, an apparent normality reigns in the capital, although the traces of the bombings of recent weeks are present in the buildings riddled with holes from the projectiles, some of them in ruins.
“I’m tired of Trump. He didn’t think it was going to cost him so much and he gambled. Politicians look out for their own interests and normal people get caught in the middle,” says Arefeh, a 30-year-old jewelry designer, who claims to take life’s difficulties with humor.
Since the war began, the woman has tried to tame the fear and explains that at night, with her husband, they bet on the type of ammunition they heard and the places they targeted to try to calm themselves. “A B2 (the American bomber)? No, I think it was a missile… I bet it was in Tajrish Square… Is that the noise of a drone or a delivery man’s motorcycle?”
Arefeh admits that he was surprised to see “the large number of missiles that Iran had.” “We had no idea!” he exclaims. “We just want a normal and quiet life. I remember the story of a girl who survived a bombing that threw her parents and her brother out of the house. The bodies of none of them were found,” says Arefeh, indignant.
Politicians look out for their own interests and normal people get caught in the middle
Arefeh, resident of Tehran
The increase in the price of raw materials for your business makes continuing your work very difficult. “My jewelry workshop has closed. My husband’s studio has closed. My work depends largely on the internet. And so does my husband’s,” she laments.
Fortunately, he had bought silver months ago, since the price per gram has skyrocketed from 2.5 million rials before the war to 10 million today and he can continue to carry out some orders.
“The night the United States announced it was going to bomb the power plants, we cleaned and vacuumed, washed all our clothes, and then took a nice bath,” he recalls. In addition, the couple also charged all portable batteries and phones before going to bed, to be prepared for a massive blackout.
Basic foods
Iran continues blocking the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US naval blockade of its oil exports, Tehran’s main economic support. The consequences are felt in the daily lives of citizens like Hamidreza, who has a business on-line and lives in Tehran: “The war was terrifying, but what worries me today is surviving in the midst of this inflation,” he says, explaining how the price of basic foods rises overnight. A bottle of cooking oil costs 17 million rials (11 euros) one day and the next day, when he went to buy it, it was already selling for 18 million.
Hamidreza has a business with a partner in Belgium. Despite the respite that the truce has provided, she has not been able to contact him again because she does not have an internet connection. “Our relatives abroad couldn’t even know if we were alive because the phone lines were cut and international calls didn’t work,” he recalls. Just a few months ago, Hamidreza saved his money in dollars or euros to preserve its value. “Now, nothing,” he resigns.
“I am angry with those who started the war. At the same time, I have mixed feelings. I wonder if something unexpected will ever happen that benefits everyone, but I don’t see it likely either,” he concludes, without wanting to go further in his point of view on the war and the authorities in Tehran.
