Factory In Isfahan On Brink Of Closure, Risking 2,000 Jobs

Speaking to ILNA news agency, Mohammad Mohammadi-Bakhsh, said that "many people are currently taking advantage of the opportunity, including traders, officials, sports teams, and economic teams."

The announcement comes at a time when Iran's economy faces record inflation and widespread poverty, the ability to purchase such luxury jets limited to the country's wealthy political elite who would also be the limited few to be given security clearance to operate such aircraft over Iranian airspace.

The average Iranian is currently struggling to survive with at least one third now living below the poverty line in the last 18 months, the average wage now as low as $400 a month. Basic food costs have become prohibitive and commodities like gas soaring. 

Ongoing sanctions for Iran's nuclear program, rights abuses and support to Russia's war on Ukraine have heavily impacted Iran's aviation sector including import restrictions and domestic production limitations.

The Iranian aviation fleet holds a meager inventory, with just 330 aircraft, and less than 200 actively utilized. The industry is struggling to meet operational aircraft targets, with only 180 aircraft currently in service against a planned 250 by the end of last year.

Despite Mohammadi-Bakhsh's previous announcements of a surge in operational aircraft around Norouz, which saw grounded planes returning to service and boosting numbers to 178 during the festive season, the sector still falls short. Last year's efforts reportedly added over 50 aircraft and helicopters to the fleet, yet the target remained unmet.

In an editorial for Setareh-e Sobh newspaper on Saturday, Ali Saleh Abadi criticized the regime for the “incorrect assessment of the consequences of their actions for the economy and people’s daily lives.”

He wrote, “Any form of conflict, including verbal threats, has a detrimental effect on the economy,” he continued. “We need to ask why Arab countries that went to war with Israel before are now defending it against Iran’s attack.”

The Iranian attack on Israel last weekend involved over 350 missiles and drones, almost all of which were intercepted by Israel and a US-led coalition of allies. In contrast, the operation on Friday involved three missiles fired by fighter aircraft outside of Iran, according to a senior US official speaking with ABC News.

Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, ABC News and CNN, citing US officials, have attributed it to Israel. According to the former, the air defense radar site in Isfahan was the target of the attacks.

Isfahan is a critical province due to its military bases, and the underground Natanz enrichment facility, which suspected Israeli sabotage attacks have repeatedly targeted.

In Tehran's leading reformist daily Etemad, former minister and long-time intelligence official Ali Rabiei wrote that Israel has not responded proportionally to Iran's barrage of missiles and drones while they seek an international coalition against Tehran with potentially harsh consequences.

Iran claims the bombardment was an act of self-defense after Israel allegedly conducted an air strike on the Iranian consulate compound in Damascus, killing one of the most senior Quds Force commanders and multiple IRGC personnel earlier this month.

In the same paper, Mostafa Zahrani, a former director general of strategic affairs in the foreign ministry, said the new strategy of IRGC’s direct conflict with Israel would "escalate war rather than [act as] deterrence."

In his view, the use of Iran's proxies across the region offers a more effective deterrent than direct conflict against Israel, Zahrani adding that while things are at present relatively calm, “there is a possibility that miscalculations by both sides could result in war.”

In Saturday's Jahan Sanat, Nader Karimi challenged the Iranian authorities' claim of robust defense systems by asking, “Why are these anti-aircraft systems waiting until the micro-birds are flying inside the country and over the nuclear facilities to strike them? They should have been spotted long before by radars. This is not in accordance with the stated security and deterrence strategies." He warned the conflict "will not end soon".

Last week, legal proceedings were brought against Jahan Sanat newspaper, accusing it of "compromising national security" for its coverage of Saturday's operation against Israel. It is the latest legal action to be taken against publications and journalists amidst ongoing crackdowns.

Shargh Daily, a reformist and relatively independent newspaper, speculated if news of the EU and US “yielding to Israeli demands” for tougher sanctions and the Friday attack on Iranian soil signals and ending of the current crisis between the two archenemies.

An ex-parliament member claimed that if Israel was behind the latest attack, “it was a controlled operation that was not intended to provoke international reactions” as powers such as the US call for calm following last weekend's aerial bombardment.

“Sanctions alone are not enough, and Israel had to attack because of balancing geopolitical equations,” Mohammad Javad Jamali Nobandegani said, adding that further Israeli attacks cannot be ruled out.

Referring to the devastating currency fluctuations, Lotfollah Siahkali said, "People's pockets are ripped. If we were using the people's money until now, that is no longer possible".

Amidst ongoing economic challenges including food prices soaring, fuel becoming prohibitively expensive and record unemployment, Siahkali predicted that the latter half of the current Iranian year will prove even more difficult. His comments come in response to significant shifts in the currency market at the start of the year (Mid March), which have fueled inflationary expectations.

Siahkali pointed to the lack of stability in Iran's economic markets as a catalyst for the populace's shift towards more stable economic assets and currency such as the US dollar, gold, and real estate to preserve purchasing power against the rapidly depreciating rial.

The rial has suffered dramatically since the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018 and the subsequent reimposition of sanctions affecting key sectors such as oil exports and banking.

The semi-official ISNA news agency detailed his engagements at the United Nations, highlighting his anti-Israel stances, interviews with American media, and comments on the recent attack on an airbase in Iran's Esfahan province.

ISNA reported an expert's view that "the foreign minister was able to use the opportunity… to explain the reasons for Iran's response to the Zionist regime, and to some extent dispel the incorrect narratives."

The report picked up by other news outlets in Tehran, also claimed that during Iran's April 14 missile and drone attack against Israel, supported by key Security Council members such as the UK, the US, and France, Israel portrayed itself as a “victim” while blocking any condemnation of its earlier attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.

ISNA also praised the foreign minister's interview with CNN on Thursday in which Amir-Abdollahian said Iran's response to Israel “stayed within a minimum of frameworks,” noting that Tehran could have taken harsher measures.

In a discussion with NBC News on Saturday, the Iranian foreign minister addressed a recent unclaimed attack in central Iran, stating that the investigation was ongoing and that no direct links to Israel had been established yet. He described the drones involved in the incident as trivial, likening them to "toys that our children play with."

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not leave unanswered any action against its national interests … Iran’s response can come in many shapes and forms but we will do it tactfully,” said Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, who serves as a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian parliament.

Reiterating the positions of senior Iranian officials, Abbaszadeh tried to downplay the Isfahan offensive, calling it “a show” performed by Israel in an attempt to “restore its dignity” following Iran’s missile and drone attacks last weekend. For the Israeli government, the media coverage of the incident was more important than its location and intensity, remarked the lawmaker.

On April 13, Iran launched its first ever direct offensive against Israeli territory with more than 350 drones and cruise and ballistic missiles, 99 percent of which were downed, according to the Israeli army.

Early Friday, Israel reportedly targeted Esfahan's 8th Shekari Air Base in retaliation for Iran’s offensive. Though satellite images and reports indicate that a major defense system in the airbase was damaged, Iranian officials and state media have unanimously played down the operation.

The regime has recently intensified its crackdown against critics, summoning those who have publicly expressed their disapproval of Tehran’s policy with regard to Israel. Earlier in the week, the government took legal action against a number of newspapers and influential journalists who failed to reiterate its rhetoric regarding the attack on Israel in their publications.

Prominent reformist commentator Abbas Abdi, investigative journalist Hossein Dehbashi, and whistle-blower Yashar Soltani were accused of “compromising national security” following their comments regarding Iran’s attack on Israel’s soil.

Ali Salehabadi, the managing editor of Setareh Sobh daily, criticized the government’s foreign policy with regard to Israel in shrouded remarks interwoven within the fabric of an article released on Saturday, asking what had made the West turn support Israel so soon after all but turning its back on the Jewish state. 

He also asked why the Arab masses and Arab states abandoned the ideas of 'throwing Jews in the sea and destroying Israel', and turned to compromise with Israel, Salehabadi wrote. He noted that some Arab countries such as Jordan collaborated with Israel, the US, the UK, and France to intercept and down Iranian projectiles before reaching the Jewish state.

He juxtaposed Iran’s declining economy and the rising regional tensions, warning that a war with Israel would target Iran’s economy and inflict damage to the people.

In more than a decade, the country's economic growth has averaged zero. The situation has been further exacerbated since the US withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018. Over the past six years, the rial, Iran’s national currency, has fallen 15-fold, fueling inflation and plunging millions of citizens into poverty. Eqtesad 24 news website reported in February that almost one in every three Iranians is currently living below the poverty line as a result of soaring inflation in the past five years.

Meanwhile, Saber Golanbari, journalist and political analyst, wrote in his Telegram channel that neither Israel nor Iran seeks a direct confrontation due to the enormous costs of a war.

“The future is likely to usher in a new round of indirect warfare in various forms. Israel will most probably try to focus more than ever on sabotage against sensitive Iranian facilities as well as on indirect assassinations,” he pointed out.