In light of the economic deterioration and the high rates of poverty in Iran, government confusion and disagreements continue within the regime, which is facing real danger due to the escalation of popular anger in the country.
In the latest setback to the government of President Hassan Rowhani, the presidency announced on Saturday the acceptance of the resignation of Industry Ministers Mohammad Shariatmadari and Transport Abbas Akhondi, and other government amendments.
Rowhani and his government are under increasing pressure from deputies who blame them for their handling of Iran's economic crisis, as public protests mount.
In August, the pressure ousted two other members of the Rohani government, the ministers of labor and the economy, from which the parliament withdrew confidence.
The Iranian presidency said on its website that Rohani agreed to the resignation of Shariatmadari and Akhundi and appointed a new minister of economy and finance in a government reshuffle on Sunday.
The proposed amendment comes as the government faces intense pressure over economic instability, mainly caused by US sanctions on Tehran.
The economy deteriorated sharply last year, suffering from high inflation, unemployment, a devaluation of the local currency (Rial), corruption of the regime and the disbursement of large sums of money to support terrorist groups in the region.
The economic and financial crisis has also been exacerbated by the United States re-imposing sanctions on Tehran after the US president's decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal, which was signed by major powers with Iran in 201 over its nuclear program.
Rohani was forced to appear before the parliament on August 28 to answer MPs' questions about the deteriorating economic situation, in a questioning session he had never undergone in his five years in office.
Widespread poverty
Reports from Iran confirm that poverty is rampant, with the opposition MKO saying that "60 percent of citizens are living below the absolute poverty line."
The report, which was published by the organization on Saturday, was based on statements from inside the system itself, quoting figures published by the economic expert, Hussein Ragher, who is close to Rohani.
The report said that according to a census announced by Ragheer last March, there is no doubt that the purchasing power of citizens fell to one-third after 6 months, and the census of people living the absolute poverty line and under it is more than 60 percent.
According to the PMOI, "the range of distance and gap between these minorities and the majority is continuously increasing as more poverty prevails in the majority."
And "what was within reach of a group of citizens yesterday, has become impossible to obtain today," said Erj Hariri, spokesman of the Ministry of Health in the system on 16 October.
"It is not the poor and vulnerable sectors that are exposed to the low availability of health services because of the costs leading to poverty and distress to appear only, but the middle classes are facing the same situation."
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Iran's economy to grow by 1.5 percent this year after US sanctions are reinstated and 3.6 percent in 2019 before slowly recovering.
Faced with this gloomy picture, the country has been witnessing since December the waves of protest against the regime with crackdowns, resulting in the deaths and injuries and the arrest of hundreds.
