Amin Raoufinejad ‎

Though Ahmadinejad had promised to appear on a live television interview to outline the ‎details of the administration’s “big economic reform” – which he had promised in his ‎Norouz speech – the interview was cancelled without any official explanation. ‎

The president’s television interview was cancelled while, according to repeated published ‎reports in newspapers, the price of basic goods such as bread and dairy has increased by ‎up to one hundred percent in the past few days, and the price of other goods, including ‎industrial and semi-industrial goods, has seen a steep rise. Meanwhile, a reporter from ‎‎“Mardomsalari” newspaper wrote that Ahmadinejad has said in a private gathering, ‎‎“Inflation exists, but is not a big problem.” ‎

In one of the latest reactions to the government’s handling of inflation, Ayatollah ‎Mahdavi Kani, secretary general of the Jame’e Rohaniyat-e Mobarez [Association of ‎Militant Clergy], told the head of the Motalefe Society [Islamic Coalition Association], ‎‎“People have problems, especially with inflation and high prices. We should not project ‎and blame others for the problems; we should all take responsibility for solving them.” ‎

Meanwhile, two days before the remarks of the Jame’e Rohaniyat’s secretary general, the ‎organization’s spokesperson, Mesbahi Moghaddam, claimed that the administration's ‎policies were the main cause of inflation and high prices, and accused the ninth ‎administration of “pumping the slogan of fighting economic corruption, but creating a ‎more suitable environment for the growth of corruption by increasing inflation.” ‎

In this connection, Hossein Fadaei, another representative from the principlists camp, ‎identified controlling inflation as the “country’s top priority.” At the same time, Ahmad ‎Tavakkoli reported a meeting with the president and cabinet in which “Ahmadinejad ‎acknowledged the existence of high inflation.” ‎

In this atmosphere of criticism mixed with uncertainty and confusion, several of the ‎seventh Majlis’s principlist MP’s called on Ahmadinejad to publicly apologize from the ‎people. Ahmadinejad, however, insists that inflation is not a “big problem,” even though ‎the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic acknowledged some time ago, “the problem ‎of housing and inflation exists and is putting pressure on the people.” ‎

It is not clear how many people were sitting in front of their television sets Sunday night ‎to listen to the president’s new promises about the economy, but it is clear that those who ‎were did not reap any benefits from their waiting. ‎