By Ali Abadi

I recently read a post by Iraqi Islamic writer and an author of many books, Ali Al-Moamen, in which he mentions the "wonders of government benefits” that the Iranian people receive.

The post on his telegram account describes the experience of a young Iraqi man who obtained Iranian citizenship from his Iranian mother*. He is married with has three children and lives in the Iranian city of Mashhad.

He told him about the living conditions and services in Iran, which he compared to those in Sweden and the United Arab Emirates, where he previously resided – three years in Stockholm and two in Dubai.

This young man with dual nationality says that the Iranian state pays every one of its citizens monthly financial assistance in the amount of 300,000 tomans (about $8). Since his family has five members, he receives 1,500,000 tomans per month, which is the local currency equivalent of $40. This amount is sufficient for him to cover the costs of all services provided by the state. These include the following:

1- Fees for electricity without any interruptions: 120,000 tomans per month, which is the local currency equivalent of $3.02.

2- Fees for water interrupted or rationed: 80,000 tomans per month, which is equivalent to $2.10.

3- Fees for liquid gas, i.e., the gas that runs through the home’s piping system. (The Iranians are not familiar with things like the gas bottle): 110,000 tomans per month on average, which is equivalent to $3.

4- Landline telephone fees, including subscription and moderate local and national usage: 30,000 tomans per month, which is equivalent to 80 cents.

5- Unlimited Wi-Fi fees: 90,000 tomans per month, which is equivalent to $2.60.

6- Mobile phone fees for three lines – for him, his wife, and his eldest son: 90,000 tomans per month on average, which is equivalent to $2.60.

7- The fees for unlimited internet for three mobile lines – for him, his wife, and his eldest son: 60,000 tomans per month, which is equivalent to $1.80.

8- The subsidized price of petrol for their car (filling the tank four times): 420,000 tomans per month on average, which is equivalent to $11.

The price is 8 cents per liter. The Iranian government grants each personal car 60 liters per month at a reduced value of 1,500 tomans per liter, which is equal to only 4 cents (the total is $5 for 60 liters) – the price of gasoline in the world (even from neighboring Arab Gulf oil states). However, buying gasoline at a subsidized price of 8 cents per liter is not rationed.

9- Health insurance payments for five people: 300,000 tomans per month, equivalent to $8. The insurance covers all operations, treatments, medicine, x-rays, and other medical procedures.

Thus, the total that this citizen pays every month to cover all expenses, including electricity, water, gas, communications, internet, health insurance, and gasoline, is about 1,300,000 tomans, which is equivalent to $34.

This means that the monthly benefits provided to him by the Iranian state are higher than his expenses for various services. This is extremely rare around the world, including in developed Western and wealthy Arab countries. In addition to these services, the state provides aid for education, social security, and the entertainment sectors.

Based on Ali Al-Moamen’s account of the general living situation in Iran, one may be compelled to ask: Why are some Iranians protesting against the situation in their country?

It is not easy to sum up Iran’s last four decades during which internal and external conditions drove many Iranians to embrace narratives repeated by opposing media outlets that work day and night to convince the Iranian people of their misery and compare them to the supposed well-being of other nations. This well-being is available within the limits of narrow classes and in conditions that cannot be compared to the blockade that Iran is subjected to.

Nevertheless, Iran remains more stable and permanent in providing services that are among the cheapest in the world. The aforementioned does not negate the existence of internal political problems and economic difficulties that limit the aspirations of Iranians and their privileges as consumers, in light of the pressures imposed by the American blockade for more than 40 years, which has intensified in recent years.

However, it must be noted that the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is being denounced today by some who are ignorant of what it offers to the Iranian people, has dealt, since its inception, with a pastoral spirit with its people at the services level, based on Islamic motives and a need to reduce poverty in the country.

We certainly realize that human needs are not limited to necessities, but the anti-Iranian propaganda has worked on the following headlines:

- Directing a targeted propaganda bombardment at every small and large problem in Iran, exaggerating it, exacerbating feelings of frustration, and promoting the narrative – "The Iranian people are not happy."

- Disparaging or marginalizing any urban, technological, or developmental achievements or any services provided by the Iranian state, on the grounds that they are a foregone conclusion and among the state’s duty.

- Reminding the people of the existence of greater shortcomings and stumbling blocks and turning people's priorities into loose headings, such as freedoms and women's rights, which are freedoms that already exist to one degree or another in Iran. Women also have a prominent presence in many fields (executive, legislative, scientific, artistic, and sports), despite the widespread criticism.

It is useful to point out here that the regime in Iran is flexible when dealing with many issues that raise popular objections, and it has the ability to correct course to the extent that this may create paralysis in the implementation of some decisions or laws.

- Manipulating minds and hearts, to the extent of saying that Iran, not America, is responsible for the blockade the Iranian people are suffering from because of the former's lack of political "flexibility" and not because of the latter's tendency to hegemony. In other words, they hold the besieged victim responsible, not the beleaguered perpetrator.

- Depicting Iran as isolated internationally and outside the international community led by the United States. The line according to the propaganda is that Iran must comply with the standards and laws of this society, which in fact prevents necessary medicines from reaching the Iranian people whose rights the West claims to support.

- Labeling Iran's spending on supporting the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon as a waste of Iran's wealth. This gave birth to the mantra, "Neither Gaza nor Lebanon", which is being repeated as a magical formula to solve problems that have nothing to do with supporting the resistance in Lebanon or Gaza.

Those who embrace this mantra do not know that the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine thwarted grave threats against Iran due to the formation of a broad axis around the country’s borders.

It is certain that the Islamic Republic suffers from economic mismanagement in some respects resulting from the size of the public sector in parallel with many successes, as its highest official, Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly explained. 

Certainly, it needs to re-govern the exercise of political power with the aim of fortifying the experience, restoring the momentum of confidence, and closing loopholes through which the enemy penetrates to force Iran to submit at a crucial stage.

However, it is also certain that there are many Iranians who have been deceived by a misleading image of their country, even though they live in its vastness. Globalization, which turned into Americanization, is a mixed reality with false images and dreams that seem closer to the culture of the West and its hypothetical vision of the reality of Iran rather than the Iranians' independent assumptions about the future of their country.

Here, the Iranian media and the authorities concerned with cultural affairs bear an important responsibility in correcting the public discourse and developing an active media instead of practicing self-flagellation and leaving the arena to be plundered by foreign media looking to serve a Western political agenda.

* The authorities of the Islamic Republic have granted Iranian nationality to those born from an Iranian mother and a foreign father, while several Arab countries, including Lebanon, still refuse to grant citizenship to those born from a foreign father.