The Iranian economy has been in a nose dive since the mullahs hijacked the revolution in 1979 and seized control. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the first Supreme Leader, created the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – the regime’s Gestapo – and put them in charge not only of the military, but also over 70% of the economy, straddling key industries such as oil, gas, telecommunications, and infrastructure. It pays no tax and is answerable directly to the Supreme Leader. Its commanders and their families are now the wealthy elite in a country where the middle class has been destroyed and more than half the population live below the international poverty line, struggling to survive. Today, as tensions rise between Washington and Tehran, Iran's national currency, the rial, has reached an all-time low against the US dollar, trading at over 1 million rials per greenback. Citizens now almost need a wheelbarrow to carry sufficient rials to buy a loaf of bread.
Read Full Article »
