IRANIAN DESCRIBES ECONOMIC WOES, NARCOTICS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000406 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2019 TAGS: ECON SNAR AJ IR SUBJECT: IRANIAN DESCRIBES ECONOMIC WOES, NARCOTICS "COTTAGE INDUSTRY" Classified By: POL/ECON Counselor Rob Garverick, for Reasons 1.4 (b & d ). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) An Iranian architect from Karaj told Baku Iran watcher that economic conditions for most people in Iran are steadily deteriorating. The architect cited examples of crony corruption, inflation, rising unemployment, decreased consumer purchasing power, and credit obstacles in illustrating this point. One example detailed involves alleged destruction of the domestic sugar beet industry due to regime cronyism. She also expressed concern over the high cost of antibiotics and drug treatments for many Iranians, and the increasing prevalence and visibility of narcotics addiction. While expressing a deep loathing of the regime and a desire for its fall that she claimed is shared by many young people, her comments also reflected the combination of personal caution and strong Iranian nationalism (including non-opposition to the nuclear program) that appears to typify many young Iranians. End Summary. Meeting with Architect -------------- ¶2. (C) Baku Iran watcher met with Farah, a young architect from Karaj, Iran (a large city about 30 kilometers from Tehran). Farah works with her father, an award-winning civil engineer, in a modestly successful company building inexpensive, "modernized" mud brick/adobe housing and other buildings in Yazd and various other dry areas in Iran. Bitter Sugar -------------- ¶3. (C) Farah said that life for most people in Iran is "not good, and getting more difficult all the time," with the "streets full of unemployed men." She blamed some of the economic problems on corruption and regime cronyism; for example she said that two large sugar refineries in Karaj recently closed down due to inability to compete with a "sweetheart" sugar import monopoly controlled by a cleric popularly known as "the Mullah Shekar (Sugar)." She claimed that this cleric used his influence to obtain non-enforcement, and subsequently abolition, of the former (130 percent) sugar tariff, and now undersells Iranian domestic producers and refiners. Another result, she said, is that many sugar beet farmers are unable to pay back their agricultural loans and abandoning their land. She added that most of the price differential between the import price and the domestic price is not passed on to consumers, but is pocketed by the Mullah Shekar and the dealers who buy from him. Declining Purchasing Power -------------- ¶4. (C) Farah also discussed inflation and declining consumer purchasing power. She said that monthly salaries for workers in her area have remained stable at about 200,000 tomans (about $200) per month for two years, while prices for basic commodities and housing have steadily risen. She related that the price of onions recently rose to 1200 tomans per kilo, while rental of a small apartment in Karaj now costs at least 10 million tomans per year, far out of reach for most couples. She estimated overall inflation during the past year as about 32 percent. She added that she often travels to Kurdish areas, and claimed to be shocked at the level of poverty and unemployment there. "The government is doing almost nothing for these people," she said. Credit Issues -------------- ¶5. (C) Farah said that obtaining credit is becoming more costly and difficult. She claimed that short term (less than one year) loans can theoretically be had at 24 percent interest, but loan approvals are difficult to get, require connections, and involve payment of substantial hidden costs and bribes to bank officers. Longer-term loans are mainly available from the non-banking sector, at annual interest rates of about 45 percent. BAKU 00000406 002 OF 002 Sanctions Raise Prices -------------- ¶6. (C) Despite sanctions, Farah said that American products are readily available for purchase in Iran "electronics, chocolates, cosmetics, laptops - everything you can get I can get." She confirmed that evading the sanctions has led to creation of a complicated import system involving re-export to Iran from Malaysia, Turkey, and other third countries. She estimated that underwriting this complicated import system increases retail prices for most sanctioned items by 15-20 percent. Health and Narcotics Issues -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Noting that her brother is a doctor, she observed that while Iran has relatively good medical infrastructure and personnel, antibiotics and other drugs (not usually covered by government health programs) are priced out of reach of many chronically ill Iranians. For example, she claimed that one shot of insulin for diabetics costs 600 tomans. She claimed that many low-income patients are relying on folk medicines and other low-cost alternatives, or do nothing, in the face of these high costs. ¶8. (C) Farah expressed great concern about the prevalence of narcotics addiction in Iran, commenting that "addicts can be seen on every street" in her hometown. She added that heroin and hashish are readily available and "very cheap" - 100 tomans buys a dose of crack. She said that drug sellers work openly and are almost never arrested. She related that a neighbor in Karaj is a major local narcotics figure and distributes large amounts of narcotics from his home. Though periodically reported to the police, she claimed that he is never interfered with, "or at most, is detained for one night, and then released." ¶9. (C) Farah described narcotics processing as a virtual cottage industry in certain parts of Tehran, where occupants prepare opium capsules and operate heroin laboratories in their homes. She noted a contrast in police treatment of narcotics versus alcohol users, claiming that clearly drugged-out people walk the streets without interference, while public drunkenness is harshly punished. Sympathy for Zoroaster -------------- ¶10. (C) Farah characterized the current government as a "dictatorship, controlled by people who don't care about our people and hate our history and culture." In contrast, she claimed that most young people are increasingly aware of ancient Persian history, and &love our people and culture.8 Calling Islam "a religion for Arabs," she asserted that "we have our own religion." Asked for clarification, she pulled out from under her blouse a previously hidden solid gold chain and pendant with the ancient Zoroastrian "frahvahar" symbol of Ahura Mazda riding an eagle. Asked if she was Zoroastrian, she seemed taken aback, but responded that for most people Zoroastrianism is "not a religion, but a philosophy." Response to Norooz Message -------------- ¶11. (C) Farah said she (and most people she knows) watched President Obama's Norooz message on satellite television. While impressed with his intentions, she expressed concern that the he might be "tricked" by the regime. She advocated gasoline sanctions as a way to ratchet up pressure if progress is not made. Despite her deep opposition to the current government, and assertions that "people are becoming less afraid," Farah noted that in light of harsh repercussions "my family would never allow me" to become involved as a participant in an anti-regime public demonstration. She also refrained from criticizing the Iranian nuclear program (which she did not doubt was aimed at obtaining nuclear weapons),clearly regarding Western criticism as hypocritical: "if Pakistan can have them, why cant we?" LU