TEHRAN (AFP) – Millions of Iranians are set to journey with their households on Wednesday for Nowruz, the Persian new yr, however the sanctions-hit nation’s financial issues weigh on the festivities. There is.
Publication date: 18/03/2024 – 11:29 Modification date: 18/03/2024 – 11:27
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Iranians will rejoice the start of the yr 1403 at precisely 26 seconds on March 20 at 6:36 a.m. (04:06 GMT), coinciding with the astronomical time of the spring equinox.
Approximately 300 million folks all over the world will want one another “Happy New Year” (“Nowruz Mobarak”) among the many Kurdish peoples of Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.
Marjan, a younger lady from Tehran, stated, “This vacation is an important vacation of the yr, a day to neglect about issues, get along with family members, and dream of a greater yr.” She didn’t give her full title.
Celebrated for 3,000 years, Nowruz marks a two-week vacation for Iranians once they journey throughout the nation or, for the fortunate ones, overseas. However, many individuals are planning to reduce their banquets this yr.
“Food is just too costly due to inflation,” Afshar, a 44-year-old accountant, advised AFP in Tajrish Bazaar, north of Tehran.
Annual inflation reached 46% final yr, in keeping with native media, and formally stands at 44%.
“I purchased meat for 700,000 tomans (about $12) per kilogram, however even after a 30-year profession, my month-to-month revenue is just 9.8 million tomans (about $160),” stated a 68-year-old man dwelling in Tehran who requested anonymity. stated. .
To simplify transactions, Iranians have lengthy referred to as their forex the toman, with the zero truncated.
“The state of affairs is dire.”
“The state of affairs is deplorable,” stated Ghasemi, a 28-year-old actual property agent, calling on the federal government to “mobilize to enhance the state of affairs and higher handle the nation.”
Iranians have complained that inflation has elevated the costs of meals and different each day requirements, with costs rising by 44% this yr in comparison with 44% in 2023, in keeping with native media. © ATTA KENARE / AFP
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei final time admitted that Iranians are feeling “bitter emotions” because of “hovering costs, particularly of meals and each day requirements.”
He ordered the federal government to take measures to “curb inflation.”
The sanctions had been reimposed by the United States in 2018 after the United States unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 deal that eased sanctions in change for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.
Since then, the Islamic Republic has suffered from continued forex devaluation and hovering costs.
Despite the headwinds, Iran recorded better-than-expected development in 2023.
The International Monetary Fund estimated that development reached 5.4% final yr and raised its forecast for 2024 to three.7% from 2.5%.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi just lately condemned the “enemy’s technique” aimed toward “creating despair in society.”
He was talking two weeks after the March 1 parliamentary elections, which noticed turnout of simply 41 %, the bottom for the reason that 1979 Islamic Revolution.
new yr throughout ramadan
Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the Islamic Republic’s late founder Ruhollah Khomeini, advised the reformist newspaper Etemad on Saturday that there was rising “dissatisfaction” over the state of affairs in “the economic system, employment, poverty and inequality.” .
Many Iranian consultants attribute the low turnout to public dissatisfaction, notably over financial points.
For the second yr in a row, the Nowruz competition coincides with Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month that started on March 11 in Iran.
Iranians adorn their tables with ‘Haft Seen’, specializing in meals and different gadgets that begin with the Persian phrase for the letter ‘S’ for Nowruz, together with apples, garlic, cash and inexperienced shoots © ATTA KENARE / AFP
In the Islamic Republic, consuming, ingesting and smoking are prohibited in public locations throughout Ramadan, when believers quick from daybreak to nightfall.
Some cafes and eating places in designated areas, reminiscent of close to hospitals, are allowed to open throughout the day.
However, eating places should adhere to strict situations, reminiscent of masking their home windows in order that passersby can not see inside whereas consuming.
© 2024 AFP