Sanctions Against Iran Make Life Hard for Teheran Man, (and His Cats)

Sanctions against Iran are biting the economy hard. Prices are rising and incomes are falling.

The goal is to persuade the government to drop its nuclear program, but it is the ordinary people who are paying the price.

Anchor Marco Werman talks to a resident of Tehran (interviewee not named on request).

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Marco Werman: I’m Marco Werman and this is “The World”, the co-production of BBC world service, PRI and WGBH, Boston. Iran was on president Obama’s agenda again today. The president re-iterated that the United States will not accept Iran developing a nuclear weapon.

Barack Obama: My policy is not containment. My policy is to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon because if they get get a nuclear weapon, they could trigger an arms race in the region. They would undermine non-proliferation goals. It could fall in the hands of terrorists.

Werman: But Obama said that there is still a window to resolve the crisis peacefully and he stressed that economic sanctions are working.
Obama: What we have been able to do last 3 years is mobilized on pressed and crippling sanctions on Iran. Iran is feeling the bite of these sanctions in a substantial way.

Werman: We want to test that sanctions are biting so that we call the ordinary resident of the Iranian capitol, Teheran. He asked us not to use his name.

Teheran man: The economy is right now in a free fall here on daily basis and there is no hope for any improvement. That’s getting worse.

Wemran: and what about you at a personal level? I hear you having trouble paying the rent.

Tehran man: Oh. Of course, I did not want the world to know that, But actually I do as many other people and my friends. You know, you are living in this apartment and, living for 2 years. Suddenly it appears like I can’t afford it anymore because the rents are double and you know, if you own an apartment or an apartment building, you want a higher rent. You probably lost an enterprise that you did, so you will have to make up for it, so…

Werman: And that falls on people like you who rent. What is your income? What is your job?

Tehran man: Actually, I graduated from conservatory as a piano player. But it appears I made a mistake. So now I work as a translator at some office and you know, it used to be a good job, it covered, but not anymore.

Werman: Right!

Tehran man: You see many people losing jobs.

Werman: What about the price of bread and other basic food? How is it going up?

Tehran man: Oh! Its soaring. I can’t talk for everybody but what I see, you know, me, my friends and my colleagues, it seems it is getting harder and harder each day for everyone, and actually I consider myself lucky because I still have a job. It not paying as it used to but well, it is a job you know.

Werman: I am curious to know who you blame for your current economic hardships. You blame Iran for its unwillingness to complain on its nukes or the U.S and the western European countries for the sanctions.

Tehran man: Actually, if I may speak on behalf of people I know, I don’t think anybody blames the west .You know, there is no reason for a country to go through so much trouble to get nuclear energy. You know, how much energy it is going to be produced through these plants- 5%? What is that on a national grid? 5% is nothing . You know, you can cut that 10 percent for making more efficient cars, making more efficient everything that needs to you. So I think what we have here right now, I don’t think anybody blames Obama or European Union.

Weman: There has been a lot of talk about some kind of foreign military attack if the sanctions do not work. How worried are you about that? Is that on your mind at all?

Tehran man: Actually I’m not worried about that . I don’t think anybody is because you have other concerns right now. You know, Israel has a scary military no offense. Not as scary as Sepha . it is a power here. You know, they get creative. They can do things that they can’t. Most scary thing here is our own government for us.

Werman: And Sepha is what? Remind us.

Tehran man: It’s the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

Werman: I understand that you have got two cats, not exactly dependents but you still care for them. Is that getting harder?

Tehran man: Oh! Actually it is getting hard for them because, here we have cat food and dog food the quality isn’t good enough for cats, and you have to buy dirt for the litter box and you have to to buy them food and its gets harder to come by these days because they are not imported as much as they used to so, my Lucifer here, is paying the price. They are very understanding cats, not like the other dogs which I had before.

Werman: Well, take good care of them, take good care of yourself.

Tehran man: Thank you. You too,

Werman: Can I ask you just one last question please.

Tehran man: Of course, Of course.

Werman.: What is your concern about not wanting to use your name?

Tehran man: Oh because you know, I sat previously a few interviews with BBC and you know, the intelligence here doesn’t handle it that well. I don’t like you to talk to foreign media. So you know, you become spy and you lock in prison. That’s why we are afraid of our own government, that the Israeli government or the American government because they are here and they are watching us.

Werman : A resident of Tehran speaking with us really today about the impact of international sanctions on Iran

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