White Lie or Childish Cunning of Raisi
According to Iran Gate, in recent days, coinciding with the breach of the 60,000 toman ceiling for the dollar exchange rate, Ebrahim Raisi has made some strange statements aimed at justifying the disastrous economic situation. These statements are mostly contrary to reality. But what is the reason behind the president of the thirteenth government making claims and statements that can be easily fact-checked?
Last week, in the presence of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Raisi promised to control the exchange rate and curb inflation. At that time, when he was delivering an enthusiastic and fiery speech on the subject, each US dollar was being traded at approximately 45,000 tomans. However, just a few days ago, the dollar price surpassed the 60,000 toman mark and is now fluctuating between 55,000 and 60,000 tomans.
But to everyone’s surprise, instead of apologizing for the country’s chaotic economic situation in recent days, Raisi blamed the currency price surges on foreigners and protesters over the past five months. In these statements, he made claims that can easily be proven false in at least two instances. A simple price comparison reveals that Ebrahim Raisi lied about the amount of the exchange rate increase from the beginning of the thirteenth government until November 2021, and also about the dollar rate when he took over the government from Hassan Rouhani.
The Battle of Narratives with Ebrahim Raisi’s Showmanship
In recent days, Ebrahim Raisi has tried to dodge accountability for his government’s poor economic performance by distorting reality and moving forward. But the strange thing is that he even did this clumsily, once again showing that the revelation of truths holds little importance for him and his advisors. In fact, the thirteenth government is attempting to build a resume and present a narrative contrary to reality about events that can be easily fact-checked by any inexperienced social media user.
Where Does Raisi Buy Dollars From?
Raisi’s first strange claim about the exchange rate concerns the dollar price when he took over the presidency from Hassan Rouhani. In his recent speech, he claimed that his government received the administration when the dollar was being traded at 27,500 tomans. This astonishing claim by Raisi is made under conditions where any simple social media user can find the dollar rate in August 2021 in a fraction of a minute and fact-check the president of the thirteenth government’s claim.
The reality is that the dollar was being traded at around 24,000 tomans when Raisi took over the executive branch. In fact, in this speech, Raisi announced the exchange rate at that time as 15% higher than the recorded real rate. Although some social media users have sarcastically asked where Ebrahim Raisi buys dollars from, given that his rate differs so much from what people observe.
Only 2,000 Tomans
Raisi’s second false claim concerns the amount of the dollar price increase from August 2021 to November 2021. He claimed that the dollar in his government and until before November 2021 increased by only 2,000 tomans. This is while a look at the recorded exchange rate table in the Tehran market shows an increase of more than 11,000 tomans in the dollar rate during the period mentioned by Raisi, such that each US dollar was being traded in the 35,000 to 36,000 toman range at the beginning of November 2021.
Comparing the real exchange rate prices in this period indicates a more than 40% jump in the dollar price. In other words, Ebrahim Raisi reports an 11,000 to 12,000 toman increase in the dollar rate during the first 14 months of his government as only 2,000 tomans.
Why Does Raisi Lie?
It is understandable that Raisi wants to escape accountability for his and his government’s disastrous economic performance by any means possible. Even considering his and his affiliated faction’s behavioral history, it is not surprising that he has blamed the dollar price increase on protesting citizens.
However, what is strange is resorting to making false statements that can be easily fact-checked. It is unclear who Ebrahim Raisi’s economic advisors are, that they even lack the ability to fabricate statistics to avoid accepting responsibility.
In the early months, economists believed that Raisi’s cabinet lacked the ability to face multiple crises in the context of Iran’s economy. But now it has become clear that Raisi’s cabinet cannot even cover up its disastrous record in economic management, something that Ahmadinejad’s government demonstrated it had a high level of skill in executing at least this one aspect.