LATEST: Political Prisoner Watch — Journalist Amrabadi Given Furlough
The Central Bank of Iran has confirmed the ongoing rise in inflation, reporting that the annual rate from June 2012 to June 2013 was 35.9%.
The Bank has steadily raised the estimate of inflation since last year’s official mark of around 20%.
The “real” situation may be worse, however. Analysts and observers have said the rise in prices is far higher, with spikes for individual food items and goods. The Statistical Center of Iran reported the “point-to-point” trending rate is 41.2%, and President-elect Hassan Rouhani said the annual figure was 42% as he spoke to MPs this week.
Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani has insisted that the problem is being addressed, “By selling bonds and gold coins as well as reducing liquidity, we hope to curb inflation.”
However, in statements to MPs and in interviews, Rouhani and his key advisors have been saying that the economic difficulties of inflation, unemployment, and declining production are entrenched because of Government mismanagement.
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Political Prisoner Watch: Journalist Amrabadi Given Furlough
Journalist Mahsa Amrabadi, serving a one-year prison sentence, has been released on furlough.
Amrabadi’s husband and fellow journalist Masoud Bastani, given a six-year term, was allowed furlough earlier this month.
Trapped By Sanctions, Iran Agrees To Barter Wheat For Electricity With Pakistan
Iran has agreed to barter $9M of Pakistani wheat and rice as part-payment to offset a $51M debt for electricity supplied by Iran to parts of Balochistan, Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad said on Wednesday.
Mehr News notes that this move comes after Iran’s Plant Protection Organization had said it would not approve the quality of Pakistani wheat. However, Iran agreed to the barter exchange after Western sanctions prevented Tehran from receiving cash payments for the electricity.
Iran had previously threatened to cut off electricity to Pakistan by August, if the outstanding debt was not paid.
MP Complains About “Brain Drain”
MP Ahmad Ghasemi Lashaki complained on Wednesday about Iran’s rising “brain drain”, the phenomenon in which educated Iranians leave the country for opportunities elsewhere, usually the US or Europe. Lashaki said that Iran ranks first among 91 countries in in academic emigration.
Lashaki is not the first to complain about Iran’s brain drain, which began in 1979, after the Islamic Revolution. Emigration spiked again in 2005, after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was first elected, and again after the disputed election of 2009.
