As Economic Protests Spread, Iran Offers $7 Monthly Stipend

Iran's government is betting that the equivalent of about $7 a month will help tamp down on unrest now spilling across much of the country. Facing mounting demonstrations over soaring prices and a collapsing currency, officials say they'll scrap a $10 billion import subsidy program and redirect the money into monthly credits for roughly 80 million people—nearly the entire population, per the New York Times. A government spokeswoman says the shift is meant to "[preserve] households' purchasing power" and "[ensure] food security," but the stipend is small in an economy where basic monthly needs can exceed $200.

The protests, which have now gone on for more than a week in at least 22 of Iran's 31 provinces, began with merchants, traders, and college students angry over inflation that topped 42% in December and a currency that has lost more than half its value in a year. Demonstrators' slogans have increasingly moved beyond economic demands to calls for greater freedoms and for an end to the Islamic Republic's rule, echoing—but not yet matching the scale of—previous waves of unrest in 2019 and 2022.

Tehran has coupled security crackdowns with policy tweaks, including swapping out the central bank governor and overhauling exchange-rate rules. The new payment would buy roughly 100 eggs or a small amount of meat or rice at current prices and can be used only for certain goods, which the government hasn't fully detailed. The stipend will be available in the form of an electronic credit that can be used at designated grocery stores, per Reuters.

Analyst Esfandyar Batmanghelidj tells the Times that the move could somewhat help the poorest Iranians but is unlikely to alter the wider sense of economic hopelessness without a new nuclear deal to lift sanctions and deeper reforms to address corruption and mismanagement. Protests kept going this week in cities such as Tehran and Yasuj, including a sit-in at the former's main market, per the AP. Iranian officials, meanwhile, have dismissed fresh US warnings against violent repression as "psychological warfare," per the Times.