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Iranians have expressed anguish and exhaustion and detailed their daily struggle to afford basic goods amid soaring inflation in messages submitted to Iran International.
A stream of voice messages and videos sent in from across the country to Iran International's submissions line points to a population grappling with collapsing purchasing power and authorities they see as out of touch with their plight.
The average monthly salary in Iran is around 150 to 200 million rials—equivalent to approximately $200-$250. But for residents in Tehran, especially those with families, this amount barely covers essentials.
One video showed a family’s lunch—just potatoes, yogurt and bread—accompanied by a bitter message voiced by the person filming: “May God curse you."
“Two packed small cakes and two juices cost 1,000,000 rials ($1.2),” said one person by audio message. “How long must we live like this?”
From grocery items to medical care, costs have surged dramatically. A 10 kg bag of Pakistani rice now sells for 9,800,000 rials ($11.80), while apples and pears fetch up to 7,000,000 rials/kg ($8.43)
Others described medical burdens. A pensioner, aged 70, said his income was just 38,000,000 rials (around $45.8) a month. “Half of that goes to medication,” he said. In another message, a military veteran said he had to pay out of pocket for cold medicine. “At my age, this is shameful,” he added.
Multiple complaints targeted the government's National Housing Plan. One registrant said she borrowed 1,500,000,000 rials (around $1,800) for a housing deposit but never received the promised loan. “Why aren’t you giving people their loans, President Pezeshkian?” she asked.
Others addressed Iran’s leadership more broadly. “You say you’ll destroy America,” one voice said, “but people are paying 16,500,000 rials ($20) just to buy soy and beans.”
Another pointed to baby formula: two subsidized cans plus a painkiller cost over 3,400,000 rials ($4.10), with unsubsidized prices higher. “So what’s the point of subsidies?”
Several messages referenced US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks during his Middle East tour, calling Iranian leaders “thieves.” One man said, “If you’re not thieves, why are people bent over in garbage bins?”
The sharp rise in prices for basic goods such as the cheapest type of bread called lavash—up from 65,00 rials to 13,250 in under a year (~$0.008 to $0.016)—has left many Iranians how their static incomes can ever catch up to soaring costs. “Who gets a raise that often?” one asked.
The voices together point to a society under strain with many seeing no financial future in the status quo.
"The talks (with Iran) continue to be constructive. We've been able to say that in these particular talks, which is beneficial. And in this case, they were constructive as well. And we made further progress," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Tuesday.
"Both sides have agreed to meet again in the near future. And we are grateful to, once again, our Omani partners for their continued facilitation of the process," she added.
The Israeli government is concerned about US President Donald Trump’s unexpected actions toward Iran, the Jewish state's Channel 13 reported on Tuesday citing an informed source.
Nearly all members of Iran’s parliamentary presidium were re-elected on Tuesday with no real competition or surprise, in an uneventful session that mirrored the widespread apathy outside.
Despite weeks of speculation that the ultraconservative Paydari Party would mount a serious challenge to Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, no meaningful competition materialized.
Even Iran’s tightly controlled state media struggled to hide the stagnation.
“The political atmosphere in Iran has never been as banal as it is today,” the conservative daily Farhikhtegan wrote in its editorial on Tuesday. “Public trust in both politics and politicians is at its lowest point.”
During the session, lawmakers barely addressed the parliament’s performance. Instead, they praised Ghalibaf’s military service during the Iran-Iraq War, deflecting attention from governance failures.
Farhikhtegan warned that many lawmakers appear unwilling or unable to manage even basic parliamentary affairs—raising concerns about the legislature’s capacity to provide oversight or hold the cabinet accountable.It also alleged that some figures outside parliament had attempted to influence the internal vote.
Ghalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, won comfortably after one of his two rivals, Ahmad Ghavami, withdrew just before the vote. The only remaining contender, Ahmad Rastineh, posed little threat.
Rastineh had claimed he was running to end what he called Ghalibaf’s undemocratic control of the legislature. However, his interventions appear to have focused more on silencing radical voices than asserting a distinct policy direction.
Legislative paralysis
In the past year, the parliament (or Majles) advanced only two major initiatives: one to enforce compulsory hijab and another to restrict social media.
The former was blocked by President Massoud Pezeshkian and the Supreme National Security Council, who feared backlash from Iran’s politically active women.
The latter also met resistance from the public and the executive. Under pressure from youth in particular, Pezeshkian overturned a ban on WhatsApp and is reportedly working to lift other platform restrictions.
Yet the parliament’s most glaring failure remains economic reform. Lawmakers have made little progress in combating corruption, reducing inequality, or improving living standards.
Some political commentators—including prominent reform advocate Abbas Abdi and former vice president and presidential candidate Mostafa Hashemi Taba—argue that legislative efforts alone cannot solve Iran’s economic crisis.
The Majles, they assert, has lost much of its relevance, and only systemic reform—especially the redistribution of financial resources—can address the country’s deeply rooted structural challenges.
Iranian officials have acted swiftly to contain the potential damage to fragile Tehran-Riyadh relations following the arrest of a well-known Iranian cleric in Saudi Arabia for harshly criticizing the kingdom.
Hojatoleslam Gholamreza Ghasemian was detained in Medina on Monday after sharing a video on Instagram in which he launched a scathing attack on Saudi Arabia’s recent social and cultural transformations.
“Iran in no uncertain terms condemns any attempt to harm Muslim unity, particularly in the spiritual atmosphere of the Hajj,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted in English on X Tuesday, adding that Tehran would not allow anyone to sabotage relations with Saudi Arabia.
“The highly competent management of this year's Hajj is well appreciated by Iran."
Iran’s ambassador to Riyadh, Alireza Enayati, also appeared to reassure Saudi authorities that Tehran disapproved of Ghasemian’s comments.
“Pilgrims respect the sanctity of the Two Holy Mosques and adhere to the governing regulations," Enayati posted on X in Arabic.
"No one will approve of bad or offensive speech.”
Earlier, however, judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangiri, representing a hardline-dominated branch of the Islamic Republic, had called Ghasemian’s arrest “unjustified and unlawful.”
Saudi authorities twice provided consular access to the detained cleric, the consular chief at Iran's foreign ministry Majid Rezapanah said on Tuesday, in what may be interpreted as a goodwill gesture.
Saudi authorities have yet to comment on the incident.
Controversial broadside
In the video recorded in Muslim holy city of Medina shortly before his arrest, Ghasemian accused Saudi Arabia of moral decline.
“You no longer need to go to Antalya (in Turkey) for casinos, brothels and obscene concerts; instead, you can go to Mecca and Medina, here!” he said in the video while expressing alarm over what he described as the “will to give dominance to atheism” in Saudi Arabia.
Ghasemian, 52, was a supporter of ultra-hardliner candidate Saeed Jalili in the 2024 Iranian presidential election. He has longstanding ties to vigilante groups involved in attacks on the British and Saudi embassies in Tehran in 2011 and 2016—incidents that led to ruptures in diplomatic relations.
While around 100 individuals were arrested over the Saudi embassy incident, several who were convicted were later quietly acquitted.
Domestic blowback
Ghasemian’s remarks have triggered a backlash within Iran, where many see them as jeopardizing recent diplomatic progress with Mideast rival Riyadh.
The moderate conservative news outlet Asr-e Iran on Tuesday criticized Ghasemian and suggested that he be detained upon return to Iran if released by Saudi Arabia.
“Given his fame and his association with certain officials, it is necessary for the Islamic Republic to immediately and explicitly distance itself from his foolish remarks so that his positions are not attributed to Tehran,” Asr-e Iran wrote.
The outlet also suggested Ghasemian may have had a “mission to cause trouble for the country”, presumably by ultra-hardliners who disapprove of Tehran’s rapprochement with Saudi Arabia and nuclear talks with Washington.
“The acts of Ghasemian and those like him must be seen in the context of conspiracies that aim to prevent normalization of Iran's relations with its surrounding world,” Salar Ahmadi, a member of the central council of the reformist Neda-ye Iranian or Iranians’ Voice Party, posted on X. “The reason: past Experience!”
Ultra-hardliners, however, rallied in support of the cleric. “We will not remain silent until Hojatoleslam Ghasemian is released from the clutches of the House of Saud,” Mojtaba Vahdati, an ultra-hardliner activist with 11,000 followers on X, posted.
Other pro-government voices warned against turning Ghasemian into a political martyr. “Don’t turn someone into a hero who will once again force the foreign ministry to plead with the Saudis,” activist Hamed Aghel posted on X, pointing out that Iran would not tolerate such accusations from a foreigner.
Recent diplomatic progress
Shi'ite Tehran and Sunni Riyadh agreed to mend fences in a 2023 deal mediated by Beijing.
Ghasemian’s comments came weeks after a major diplomatic breakthrough: a historic visit by Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman to Tehran in April—the highest-level visit by a Saudi official in decades.
Prince Khalid met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and conveyed a message from his father King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Tehran and Riyadh appear keen to stay in close touch as high-stakes US-Iran talks enter crunch time.
Araghchi visited Riyadh in early May to meet his Saudi counterpart and discuss the lay of the land in the region and progress in the nuclear talks.
