Amin Raoufinejad ‎

Several newspapers published in Tehran set aside their main headline on Saturday to ‎cover inflation, specially the news of “the grand ayatollahs' denouncement of inflation” ‎and the Central Bank’s new economic package. ‎

The newspaper reports were referring to Grand Ayatollahs Makarem Shirazi and ‎Mousavi Ardebili, who denounced high inflation rates in a meeting with representatives ‎from the conservative Islamic Coalition Society [“Hezb-e Mo’talefeh Eslami”]. ‎

Representatives from the Islamic Coalition Society also met with Secretary General of ‎the Association of Combatant Clergy [“Jame’e Rohaniyat-e Mobarez”], Ayatollah ‎Mahdavi Kani, to discuss the country’s inflationary crisis. In the meeting, Ayatollah ‎Kani warned, “We must not blame one another but accept responsibility." Meanwhile, ‎prominent grand ayatollahs residing in Ghom noted, “Inflation is not a slogan, but a ‎reality of life felt by all” (Mousavi Ardebili), and “People are complaining about inflation ‎and high prices to us from all over the country” (Makarem Shirazi). Even Mesbah Yazdi, ‎Ahmadinejad’s spiritual ideologue, told representatives from the Islamic Coalition ‎Society that “Officials must gain the necessary expertise to eradicate poverty.” ‎

In another reaction, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, deputy speaker of the Majlis, said, “We ‎expected to see inflation from the beginning and had differences of opinion with some of ‎the administration’s experts,” adding, “It seems as if inflation is becoming intolerable.” ‎

Inflation is intolerable not just for Bahonar, but also for Mesbahi Moghaddam, the ‎Association of Combatant Clergy's spokesperson, who has authored several articles and ‎conducted interviews to criticize the role of the Ahmadinejad Administration in ‎exacerbating inflation. Mesbahi Moghaddam and his colleagues in the seventh Majlis ‎have issued several warnings about this issue in the Majlis. ‎

Several other prominent figures, such as Dorri Najafabadi and Hashemi Shahroudi also ‎warned about rising prices. Friday prayer leaders in various cities also denounced ‎inflation, repeating the phrase, “the government must solve this problem.” Majlis ‎deputies Elias Naderan and Ahmad Tavakkoli threatened to open hearings on the ‎administration’s unauthorized withdrawal from the country's foreign currency reserves ‎account, an issue controversial enough to ground the impeachment of several cabinet ‎ministers. ‎