Iran International
Rising bread prices have become a growing source of concern within Iran’s political establishment, with warnings that further increases could trigger unrest as inflation erodes living standards.
The hardline newspaper Kayhan, aligned with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned on Sunday that raising bread prices could have “catastrophic consequences,” cautioning that “Iranian society cannot tolerate a new shock.”
Kayhan urged the heads of Iran’s executive, legislative and judicial branches to intervene, calling the planned price increase “mysterious and suspicious” and accusing economic advisers to President Masoud Pezeshkian of “playing into the hands of Iran’s enemies.”
The warning came days after government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said bread prices would “most certainly” rise soon, signaling a politically sensitive move affecting a staple food relied upon by millions of low-income Iranians.
Iran’s Statistical Center reported inflation at about 60%, sharply reducing purchasing power and placing essential goods increasingly out of reach for poorer households.
Economists warn that price increases in staples such as bread can ripple across the economy, raising costs and accelerating inflation.
Blame game
Bread has long been a politically sensitive commodity in Iran, where subsidies have historically helped preserve social stability. Price increases or subsidy cuts affecting basic goods have previously triggered protests and unrest.
Kayhan linked the issue to recent protests, saying earlier subsidy cuts had already produced “heavy social and security consequences.” It said officials had “chosen the worst possible time” for further increases, given the country’s economic and political pressures.
The dispute reflects a broader pattern in Tehran, where competing factions often blame one another for economic hardship. Hardline outlets and political figures frequently accuse elected governments of mismanagement, while President Pezeshkian and his allies have said entrenched interests and powerful unelected institutions are obstructing efforts to stabilize the economy.
Rarely acknowledged in these public exchanges is the extent to which Iran’s economic trajectory is shaped by political and foreign policy decisions made at the highest levels of the system.
Under Iran’s constitution, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei holds ultimate authority over key areas including foreign policy, defense and the nuclear program, decisions that have played a central role in triggering sanctions and shaping the country’s economic environment.
Cash payments
The newspaper also accused the government of disguising subsidy reductions through technical language, saying officials claim subsidies have merely been “shifted in the supply chain” rather than eliminated.
Such explanations, Kayhan said, “never convince the people and will certainly lead to crises.”
The government has said it plans to offset higher bread prices through cash payments to households.
But economic researcher Yaser Bagheri said the current monthly subsidy allows recipients to buy only three loaves of bread, highlighting the limited impact of compensation measures.
Iranian outlets including the moderate Rouydad24 reported last week that food prices rose by more than 13.7% in a single month, underscoring mounting pressure on household budgets.
Kayhan’s unusually blunt warning underscores growing concern within Iran’s political establishment that economic hardship—especially involving essential goods such as bread—could carry serious political consequences.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.