In a recent high-level meeting with Iran’s economic, military, and governmental leaders, President Masoud Pezeshkian proudly announced that his administration has crafted a “special plan” to alleviate the country’s worsening economic crisis. According to the president, the plan aims to guarantee that “no Iranian will go hungry,” a lofty promise in a country where inflation is skyrocketing, wages are collapsing, and millions are struggling to afford basic necessities.
But when pressed on how such a plan will be funded, Pezeshkian offered an answer that left many citizens stunned: the money will come from “donations” and the “participation of the people.” While the language may sound democratic, Iranians understand what it really means—new taxes, higher prices, and yet another financial burden on an already suffocating population.
This announcement comes as the regime continues to pour billions into its global network of terror. From Hezbollah’s arsenals in Lebanon, to Hamas’ tunnels in Gaza, to the Houthis’ ballistic missile program in Yemen, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Quds Force remain among the most well-funded terror machines in the world. Meanwhile, Iranian citizens wait in long lines for food, endure blackouts, and live with the daily consequences of economic mismanagement and ideological extremism.
The regime’s budget priorities couldn’t be clearer. Instead of investing in domestic growth or lifting the Iranian people out of poverty, Tehran continues to spend vast sums on nuclear development, drone and missile production, and sponsoring regional instability. These are not the actions of a government trying to solve a crisis—they are the actions of a regime obsessed with power and ideological conquest.
Rather than ask impoverished citizens to “participate” in solving the crisis they didn’t cause, Pezeshkian could start by slashing funding to terror groups and reinvesting in Iran’s crumbling economy. But that would require the regime to prioritize its people over its jihad—and that is something the Islamic Republic has never done.
Iran doesn’t need creative accounting or hollow slogans. It needs a fundamental shift in its values—one that replaces war with welfare, and replaces terror exports with food imports. Until then, Pezeshkian’s plan will be nothing more than another insult to a suffering nation held hostage by its own government.
