Despite what's going on in Gaza, the "Hot News" today in the online edition of the Tehran Times concerns a forthcoming economic reform plan that will have to "redirect subsidies" because of the collapse of crude oil prices. The Iranians need oil to be selling for about $90 a barrel to meet their economic needs. But oil prices have dropped to under $40 and have so far resisted efforts to coax them back up. Add to that the fact that the Iranian national oil industry is inefficient, and has failed to meet its goals for greater efficiency and higher production, and all is not rosy in Tehran. Iran actually has to import gasoline and diesel fuel. Add to that inflation and rising unemployment.
While Ahmadinejad is trying to keep the focus on Gaza, I find it interesting that the Tehran Times did not see that as the "Hot News."
Redirecting or cutting back on subsidies will not be easy, politically or otherwise. During the debate one Majlis member, Rouhollah Hosseinian, stated that a "subsidy-based economy is like a patient that needs constant injection to continue his life . . . and needs a surgery to return to natural life." His personal view apparently is:
"Today, the subsidies need to be removed to make the national economy healthy." He added: "Currently . . . 70 percent of the subsidies go to 30 percent of people."
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