Sep. 2 – Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi has come under fire for a report which appears to downplay the current economic crisis in the country.
Figures in the report — which were presented to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — said that the government had brought down the inflation rate from 60 percent to 35 percent after 12 months.
The report also suggested that Raisi had fulfilled his promise to build an additional 4 million homes, improved incomes for teachers and nurses, and boosted fuel and energy production. The claims were called into question by national news outlets, which said the figures did not reflect the reality on the ground for Iranians in the country.
Iran and Turkey’s border police were accused of firing at Afghan refugees who attempted to cross into Iran to reach safety, according to a report by Amnesty International.
The police fired at the refugees to try to push them away from the border, leaving dozens of Afghans dead, according to the rights watchdog.
Iran is the second largest host of Afghan refugees in the world after Turkey, with 3.6 million Afghans living in the country. Of those, only 780,000 are recognized as refugees. The number of Afghans seeking refuge in Iran has increased in recent years following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.
And Iran’s education minister, Yousef Nouri, said 200 educational textbooks would be revised, after the country’s Supreme Leader ordered a review of the materials.
The announcement followed President Raisi’s cancellation of the implementation of a United Nations document designed to ensure inclusive education at all levels and encourage life-long learning for both girls and boys.
Khamenei has routinely expressed concerns about school materials in Iran, which have led to the books having pictures of girls removed from their covers and pro-Russia content added.
