Iran’s economic and institutional stability is deteriorating rapidly, marked by a plunging currency, widespread public discontent, and systemic corruption. Just days after authorities introduced a so-called unified exchange rate of 100,000 tomans per U.S. dollar, the unofficial market rate has already exceeded 110,000, reflecting a severe erosion of confidence in both economic policy and governance. Essential goods including food, medicine, and fuel have surged in price, while state-affiliated media now warn officials to “fear the inside,” signaling that internal unrest—not external pressure—is the primary threat to regime survival.
The currency reform, intended to streamline Iran’s fragmented exchange system, has instead highlighted fiscal desperation. With importers halting orders amid fears of further devaluation, lawmakers have cautioned that inflation will spike, particularly affecting basic necessities. The Darooyar initiative, which eliminated a 4,200-toman subsidy on medicines in favor of market pricing, has driven up healthcare costs by approximately 70 percent, according to Rooidad24. Hospitals are struggling to replenish vital supplies, forcing patients to pay out of pocket for treatments.
State-aligned outlets like the conservative newspaper Khorasan have pointed fingers at monopolistic firms and a “medicine mafia” profiting from the crisis—acknowledging, albeit indirectly, that powerful cartels operate within the government structure itself.
While ordinary citizens face food rationing, medical delays, and water shortages, reports reveal extravagant spending by officials. On November 10, a leaked document showed that the head of Iran’s Environmental Protection Organization requested nearly 50 billion tomans from public funds for a two-day trip to Brazil—later reduced to 15 billion, still an exorbitant sum. Though officials defended the trip as necessary for an international climate summit, the contrast between public austerity and elite indulgence has deepened resentment.
Environmental degradation is compounding the crisis. On November 9, Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that Karaj Dam has reached its “dead volume,” meaning most remaining water is unusable. Tehran residents now face nightly water cuts from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., while Mashhad’s water reserves have dropped below three percent of capacity. Despite repeated warnings, the government has offered only calls for conservation, with no meaningful investment in infrastructure or transparency about resource depletion.
At the provincial level, corruption appears institutionalized. In Sistan and Baluchestan, the Voshkool Khodro auto fraud case—worth billions of tomans—has exposed collusion between local officials, judiciary members, and their relatives. Victims who invested savings in promised affordable vehicles have seen suspects evade accountability, with allegations of bribery and judicial interference. No national authority has intervened, reinforcing the perception that the rule of law applies only to the powerless.
An editorial in Jomhuri-ye Eslami on November 9 titled “Fear The Inside” has become symbolic of the regime’s internal alarm. Citing Ayatollah Khomeini, the paper urged leaders to dread economic mismanagement and public neglect. However, such warnings appear less like moral reckonings and more like survival tactics within the ruling elite—calls to preserve the system, not serve the people.
Across sectors—currency, healthcare, water, and governance—a consistent pattern emerges: a state moving from mismanagement to paralysis. With the rial trading at 110,000 per dollar and essentials beyond reach for many, the credibility of reformist rhetoric has collapsed. The social contract has devolved into coercion and scarcity. Even within state media, the tone has shifted from confidence to caution, suggesting that the next crisis may not just weaken the regime, but trigger its self-destruction. The phrase “fear the inside” may prove prophetic—not as a call for reform, but as an admission of fear.
— news from National Council of Resistance of Iran – NCRI
— News Original —
Iran’s Economic Unraveling Deepens as Currency Falls and Scandals Multiply
Three-minute read n nIran’s overlapping economic and governance crises are converging into a single, corrosive breakdown. Within days of approving a long-delayed currency “unification” at 100,000 tomans per U.S. dollar, the market rate has already slid past 110,000, signaling a collapse of confidence in both the policy and the government that announced it. Prices of food, medicine, and fuel are spiking again, state newspapers are warning officials to “fear the inside,” and corruption scandals are eroding what remains of public trust. The regime’s own voices now echo a single refrain: the danger is no longer foreign—it’s domestic. n nCurrency Reform Without Credibility n nThe decision by the heads of Iran’s three branches to replace the 28,500-toman preferential rate with a “unified” rate around 100,000 tomans per dollar was billed as a step toward transparency. Instead, it has exposed the depth of fiscal exhaustion. As the free-market rate breached 110,000 tomans, importers froze orders, fearing another devaluation. Parliament members warned that the move would ignite a new inflationary wave, hitting fuel, food, and medical supplies. n nThe Darooyar plan, which replaced the 4,200-toman subsidy with free-market pricing for medicine, has already pushed drug and medical-equipment prices up by about 70 percent, according to Rooidad24. Even state-aligned newspapers now admit that hospitals cannot restock essential supplies and that patients are being forced to purchase treatments privately. The conservative daily Khorasan blamed “special companies with import monopolies” and a “mafia of medicine” profiting from the chaos—a rare acknowledgment of cartel power embedded in the state itself. n nAusterity for the Public, Privilege for the Elite n nWhile the government tells citizens to tighten their belts, the regime’s own officials continue to flaunt excess. On November 10, a leaked document revealed that the head of the Environmental Protection Organization requested nearly 50 billion tomans from the public budget for a two-day trip to Brazil—a sum later reduced to 15 billion but still far beyond any plausible cost. The revelation, published by multiple outlets, ignited fury across social media and even among extremist lawmakers, who called it “a portrait of elite arrogance in a bankrupt state,” trying to distance themselves from the fiasco. n nThe government’s defenders claimed the trip was necessary to represent Iran at an international climate meeting, but the justification only highlighted a deeper contradiction: a regime preaching thrift at home while indulging in extravagance abroad. For ordinary Iranians—many of whom now ration food, delay medical care, and face nightly water cuts—the symbolism could not be clearer. n nWater Runs Dry in the Capital n nAs economic pressure mounts, the environmental crisis has turned existential. The state news agency ISNA reported on November 9 that Karaj Dam has reached its “dead volume”, meaning most of the remaining water is undrinkable or unusable. Officials described current conditions as “extreme drought” and “a national supply crisis” affecting Tehran, Mashhad, Karaj, Tabriz, and Arak. n nIn Tehran, residents are already experiencing scheduled nightly water cuts from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., a measure reported by Fararu. The head of Mashhad’s Water and Wastewater Company admitted that local reserves are below three percent of capacity. Despite repeated warnings, the government has offered only appeals for “consumption management” rather than infrastructure repair or transparency about depletion rates. n nThe tone from officials has shifted from denial to resignation. Yet the message remains defensive: conserve, endure, obey—never protest. n nCorruption As Local Governance n nAt the provincial level, the same pattern persists. In Sistan and Baluchestan Province, the billion-toman Voshkool Khodro auto fraud case has revealed networks of influence linking municipal officials, judges, and relatives inside the judiciary. Victims from multiple towns say they were defrauded of savings by promises of cheap cars and have watched the accused operate with impunity. Local reports claim that some suspects’ family members hold posts in the courts handling the case, and that bribery offers have been made to secure releases. n nNo national body has intervened. Instead, authorities have remained silent—a familiar response that confirms, to many Iranians, that the rule of law is reserved for the powerless. n n“Fear The Inside” n nOn November 9, the editorial headline from Jomhuri-ye Eslami—“Fear the Inside”—has become shorthand for the regime’s predicament. Quoting Ruhollah Khomeini, the former regime Supreme Leader and founder, it warned leaders to “fear neglecting the people’s livelihood, fear economic corruption, fear the field left to profiteers.” In effect, the paper acknowledged that social anger, not foreign plots, now poses the real threat to stability. n nBut these calls are not acts of conscience. They are survival alarms—appeals for better self-preservation within the ruling system, not for relief to the public. Every denunciation of corruption or warning about unrest ultimately ends with the same plea: protect the regime, not the citizen. n nA System Consuming Itself n nAcross all sectors—the collapsing currency, the failing “Daroyar” subsidy plan, the decaying water system, and the scandals from Qazvin to Sistan and Baluchestan—the pattern is unmistakable. Iran’s clerical state has moved from mismanagement to paralysis, from propaganda to panic. Its leaders quarrel over symptoms but preserve the structure that causes them. n nWith the rial at 110,000 to the dollar and essential goods priced out of reach, the government’s “reform” vocabulary has lost credibility. The social contract has eroded into coercion and rationing. Inside the regime’s own press, the tone has shifted from triumph to warning—a recognition that the next crisis may not just weaken the system but turn it against itself. The ruling elite’s new mantra, “fear the inside,” may prove prophetic not because it advises vigilance, but because it confesses dread.