Millions of Iranians will travel to reunite with their families on Wednesday to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian new year, but economic problems in the sanctions-hit country are putting pressure on celebrations.
Iranians will celebrate the beginning of the year 1403 at 6:36 a.m. and 26 seconds exactly on March 20, which coincides with the astronomical time of the Spring Equinox.
Around the world, some 300 million people, including the Kurds in Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Turkey, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, will wish each other “Happy New Year” (“Nowruz mobarak”).
“This is the most important holiday of the year, where we forget about our problems, reunite with our loved ones and dream of a better year,” said Marian, a young woman from Tehran, she told AFP Like others interviewed, she declined to give her full name.
Nowruz is 3,000 years old and marks a two-week holiday for Iranians traveling within the country or abroad. However, many people plan to have fewer banquets this year.
“Food is too expensive due to inflation,” Afshar, a 44-year-old accountant, told AFP in the Tajrish bazaar in northern Tehran.
Annual inflation is officially at 44%, compared with 46% last year, local media reported.
A 68-year-old Tehran resident who asked not to be named said: “I bought meat for 700,000 tomans (about 12 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, but after a 30-year career, I only earn 9.8 million a month. Toman ($160).” .
To simplify transactions, Iranians have long called their currency the “toman,” minus a zero.
The situation is terrible
“The situation is regrettable,” said 28-year-old real estate agent Ghasemi, who called on the government to “mobilize to improve the situation and better govern the country.”
Last year on Nowruz, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei admitted that Iranians were “painful” due to “high prices, especially for food and basic necessities.”
He then tasked the government with taking steps to implement “inflation control.”
Iranian authorities blame soaring prices on Western economic sanctions.
The United States reimposed sanctions in 2018 after Washington unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 deal to ease sanctions in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Since then, the Islamic Republic has suffered from continued currency depreciation and soaring prices.
Despite headwinds, Iran’s growth in 2023 remains stronger than expected.
The International Monetary Fund estimated economic growth at 5.4% last year and raised its forecast for 2024 from 2.5% to 3.7%.
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi recently denounced the “enemy’s strategy” which he said was aimed at “creating despair in society”.
His comments came two weeks after legislative elections on March 1, when turnout was just 41%, the lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
New Year during Ramadan
Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, told the reformist newspaper that there was a high level of “dissatisfaction” about the situation “economically, employment, poverty or inequality”. progress Saturday.
Many experts in Iran attribute the low turnout to popular dissatisfaction with economic issues.
For the second consecutive year, Nowruz celebrations coincide with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins on March 11 in Iran.
The Islamic Republic bans eating, drinking and smoking in public during Ramadan, and worshipers fast from dawn to dusk.
In recent years, however, authorities have relaxed somewhat during Ramadan.
Certain cafes and restaurants in specific areas, such as near hospitals, can open during the day.
However, restaurants must adhere to strict conditions, including covering windows to prevent fasting passers-by from seeing inside.
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