Partial lifting of internet restrictions reveal Iranians’ anger over food inflation

The partial lifting of internet restrictions in Iran has revealed a rising tide of anger about food price inflation as ordinary Iranians decry annual price increases of 308% for vegetable oil, 190% for chicken, and 170% for rice. Iranian authorities on Tuesday began restoring the connection to the global internet that was severed on the first day of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic on 28 February, as it had been during mass protests in January. Connectivity remained patchy on Wednesday, with mobile internet still largely disconnected and many sites remaining restricted. But even the partial restoration was enough to reveal an outpouring of anger over price inflation and food shortages. “Everything is so expensive. It has become a disaster,” wrote one user on social media. “You leave the market with a broken heart after spending all your savings. It is unbearable. We have no patience left to lead a normal life.” President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has been given some credit for lifting the internet restrictions, blamed the US for Iran’s economic woes, saying Washington “had moved to economic warfare after failing to bring the government down”. In a lengthy statement, the ministry of intelligence revealed its concerns that internet freedom could be used for “cognitive warfare”, warning that Iran’s adversaries aimed to “incite protesters and drag them on to the streets”. …