Iran Live: Rising Prices for Food --- Now Shortages and Rationing?

0854 GMT:Nuclear Watch. The Ministry of Labour has announced that the Supreme Court of Administration has received a complaint from workers that the increase in the minimum wage is keeping up with inflation.

The Central Bank puts inflation at 30.5% - with many believing the figure to much higher – while the minimum wage was only increased by 25%.

100 city councillors have begun a petition urging the government to recognize “the legitimate demands of the workers” and put the wage increase in line with the Central Bank’s official inflation rate.

0826 GMT:Nuclear Watch. Discussing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, Ali Baqeri, the deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, stated yesterday that “The ball is now in the court of the P5+1.”

On Wednesday, the speaker of parliament Ali Larijani also called for the P5+1 countries to be responsive to Iran’s nuclear aspirations, declaring that "With full materialization of Iran's peaceful nuclear rights based on the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), we can be optimistic about expected success in the talks with the Group 5+1."

Meanwhile, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazaei, rejected claims that Iran’s nuclear programme was a threat to the security of the Middle East, instead accusing Israel – unsurprisingly – of being the primary source of instability.

0610 GMT:Food Watch

Iranian media have been reporting sharp price rises for basic commodities --- from fruit and vegetables to meat to nuts --- in recent weeks.

Now, a further worry comes from Fars News --- linked to the Revolutionary Guards --- which points to even sharper rises because of a Government announcement that only four imported food staples are now eligible for foreign-currency subsidies: wheat, barley, corn, and soya.

Fars said that stores are now seeing long queues of customers purchasing cooking oil, while other media claimed "rationing" with a doubling of price on the "open market", i.e., street.

Leading conservative MP Ahmad Tavakoli declared, “People can no longer endure the rising prices.”