US sanctions are putting such a strain on Iran’s poor that the government wants to censor films depicting hearty chicken meals, The Telegraph reports.
Worried that the image of their favorite dish (like this mouth-watering Maklubah) will be so incendiary that people who can’t afford to buy it will be inclined to attack the rich, Mr Ahmadi-Moghaddam, brother-in-law of Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told a law enforcement officers at a recent conference in Tehran these films should be restricted.
Designed to pressure the Iranian government to end what most view as a suspect uranium enrichment program, the sanctions and a new EU boycott of the country’s oil sales have crippled the economy.
Many local Iranians have turned to aubergine – chicken of the poor because prices for chicken and other meat are sometimes three times as high as they were last year. The Telegraph reports that last week, prices for chicken had reached as much as £3.67 per kilo.
“Films are now the windows of society and some people observing this class gap might say that we will take knives and take our rights from the rich. IRIB [Iran’s state broadcaster] should not be the shop window for showing all which is not accessible,” Ahmadi-Moghaddam told police officers.
Determined to put on a brave face in defiance of the sanctions, government officials have warned journalists to refrain from making negative reports about the country’s economic woes. Mohammad Hosseini, Iran’s culture and Islamic guidance minister offered that Iranians need to show solidarity “so that the country is not hurt.”
But long lines at state food distribution centers, where chicken is sold at fixed, reduced prices, are hard to ignore. Even Yadollah Javani, Chief Adviser to a representative to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that inflation could rise anywhere from 50 to 70 percent within the next six months.
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Image credit: national foods of Iran, Shutterstock
More on US Sanctions, the EU boycott, and Iran:
Iranian’s Turn to Aubergine – Chicken of the Poor
US Sanctions on Iran Pressures Turkey’s Oil Supply
Iran Sanctions Bolster Nuclear Ambitions, Pollute Environment
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Police Chief Ahmadi Moghadam is not Ahmadinejad’s brother-in-law! I’ve understood that media distort everything about Ahmadinejad. exactly everything!