(AP) Nasser Karimi and Mohammad Nasiri - Many Iranians blame their own government for the economic pressure they face. Inflation is over 37%, while 12% of working-age citizens are unemployed. A simple cell phone costs two months' salary for the average government worker. Hossein Rostami, 33, a taxi driver, told AP: "The cause of our problems is the officials' incompetence. Our country is full of wealth and riches." "Our problem is the embezzlers and thieves in the government," said Nasrollah Pazouki, who sells clothes in Tehran's Grand Bazaar. "When people come to power, instead of working sincerely and seriously for the people, we hear and read after a few months in newspapers that they have stolen billions and fled." Jafar Mousavi, who runs a dry-goods store in Tehran, said many of the woes are self-inflicted from rampant graft. "The economic war is not from outside of our borders but within the country."
2019-06-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive