Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09RPODUBAI497
2009-11-18 12:38:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Iran RPO Dubai
Cable title:  

IRAN: VISA APPLICANTS IN DUBAI COMMENT ON THEIR ECONOMIC

Tags:  PGOV ECON IR 
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VZCZCXRO1386
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDIR #0497/01 3221238
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 181238Z NOV 09
FM RPO DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0631
INFO RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 0480
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHDIR/RPO DUBAI 0632
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000497 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2019
TAGS: PGOV ECON IR
SUBJECT: IRAN: VISA APPLICANTS IN DUBAI COMMENT ON THEIR ECONOMIC
SITUATION

DUBAI 00000497 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Alan Eyre, Director, Iran Regional Presence
Office, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000497

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2019
TAGS: PGOV ECON IR
SUBJECT: IRAN: VISA APPLICANTS IN DUBAI COMMENT ON THEIR ECONOMIC
SITUATION

DUBAI 00000497 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Alan Eyre, Director, Iran Regional Presence
Office, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) SUMMARY: Iranian visa applicants in Dubai are generally
from higher socioeconomic levels than average Iranians. Still,
their economic situations vary significantly. Income, at the
low end of the range, is roughly several hundred dollars/month
for teachers, young employees, and retirees living on a pension.
Mid-career professionals, small business owners, and professors
typically earn up to a few thousand dollars per month. Doctors,
especially medical specialists, and businessmen are at the upper
end of the range, with monthly income potentially reaching into
the tens of thousands of dollars. Monthly expenses range with
monthly income; many applicants maintain they are able to save
money each month. However, based on informal questioning, the
difference between one's income and one's expenses generally
doesn't allow the average applicant to save significant amounts
each month. The applicants' sense of the economy and their own
well-being reflect a range of factors, some specific to Iran,
some not. END SUMMARY.




2. (C) Conoff queried Iranian visa applicants in Dubai regarding
their economic situation during their visa

interviews. The comments included here represent the typical
range of applicants.



-The wife of a pediatrician from Mashhad said their financial
situation was good and said that fears of influenza were
benefitting her husband's medical practice.



-A jewelry store owner in Tehran said that his customer base has
dropped has 20 percent from a year ago but his overall income
has remained the same because gold prices and his profit margin
have increased.



-A retired Bank Tejarat employee maintained that her financial
situation was quite good, relative to other Iranians. She
receives a pension of 400 dollars/month, as does her retired
husband. However, her husband also manages a company selling
minibuses, getting an additional 1500 dollars/month. (COMMENT:
It is common for retirees to continue working to supplement
their pensions. END COMMENT)



-A young drug technician working in a private Iranian hospital

said he earns about 700 dollars/month. His monthly expenses
tend to range from 400 dollars/month to as much as 700
dollars/month. He maintained that he was able to save money
each month.




3. (C) The visa applicants' concerns about the economy probably
mirror the general population. Inflation continues to be cited
as a problem in Iran and applicants appear to be aware - and
wary - of the government's subsidy reform plan. Applicants so
far have not been supportive of the plan, but those poised to
benefit from the cash handouts-Iran's poorest citizens-are
underrepresented in Dubai.



-A manager of a Play-Doh factory in Tehran was apprehensive of
the consequences of the subsidy reform plan. He earns about
2500 dollars/month and will not qualify for the cash payments
that will replace the subsidies. He expects price increases
across the board and said that he anticipates his personal
monthly expenses will increase by 500 percent.



-A lawyer from Bandar Abbas was similarly opposed to the subsidy
reform legislation, though his sense of the potential prices
increases was less dramatic; he thinks his expenses will
increase by about 50 percent. He said many of his clients are
opposed to the legislation and think that their financial
situation is better served by keeping the subsidies in place.



DUBAI 00000497 002.2 OF 002



-A Tehran restaurant owner said everyone is talking about the
subsidy reform plan and worried about its inflationary effects.
He thinks the price of bread will more than double immediately,
regardless of the government's intention to increase prices
gradually.



-A widow from Tehran with income of about 800 dollars/month
cited rising food prices as the most significant consequence of
inflation for her.



-The retired Bank Tejarat employee cited above agreed; she said
she had traveled to Paris earlier this year and before doing so
made a mental of note of the prices in Tehran. She claimed food
to be more expensive in Tehran than it was in Paris.



-Younger applicants are also likely to cite the cost of buying a
home as the most visible consequence of inflation. An employee
with Ericsson earning about 2000 dollars/month said homes are
very expensive, and even though prices have dropped
significantly in the past year they remain high by historic
standards.



-A businessman with income of about 10,000 dollars/month whose
factory produces shoe soles complained that business has
declined and was not optimistic about the economy improving in
the near future. He cited the present political situation as
the country's primarily economic problem.



-An owner of a shipping company that transports consumer goods
and steel between Europe and Iran said business had dropped
about 10-15 percent from a year ago. He had few prescriptions
for fixing Iran's economy and commented that the economy has too
many problems, making it impossible to predict when it might
improve.



-A long retired economist from the Management and Planning
Organization who now teaches economic planning bemoaned the
current state of the Iranian economy. He pointed to his own
family as an indication of Iran's chief problem: his three
children have all left Iran; one lives and works in Washington
DC and two others are in Canada and the UAE. He said his
children left to find freedom and better opportunities.




4. (C) COMMENT: Visa applicants have an incentive to inflate
their economic wellbeing to improve their odds of receiving a
visa. That said, applicants in Dubai have varied economic
backgrounds and their concerns likely reflect the concerns of
most Iranians. END COMMENT.
EYRE