Hardliner warns Iranians of coming economic hardship

Ayatollah Jannati

Iranian hardline cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati announced in today’s Friday mass prayers that Iranians should expect a period of economic hardship with the phasing out of the subsidies.

Iranian media report that Jannati told worshippers in Tehran the cutting of subsidies will create pressure and “the government must try to minimize the pressure and the negative effects on the poor.”

He added: “We will face a period of abstemious living during which we must call for God’s assistance since everything is in God’s hands.”

The phasing out of Iran’s $100 billion dollar government subsidies is a controversial plan which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been keen on getting underway. The plan however has been stalled by Ahmadinejad’s disagreements over its details with the parliament.

Analysts have predicted that the sharp rise in essential goods that will result from cutting subsidies could result in more political unrest.

Ahmadinejad has dismissed talks of economic difficulty and insists that the plan will in fact improve people’s lives.