Iran’s parliament approved a plan to issue food stamps [Feb. 24] every third month to beneficiaries of the Imam Khomeini's Relief Foundation and the Welfare Organization, more commonly known as Iran’s poor.
The stamps for staples of rice, sugar, oil and meat are designed to support the value of existing welfare payments, which have been eroded by high Inflation in the Islamic Republic. They are the brainchild of Ahmad Tavakoli, a member of parliament and a prominent government critic who has a doctorate in economics from Britain’s Nottingham University. According to Tavakoli, the stamps will be issued to the 7 million poorest Iranians and have been made necessary due to the high inflation caused by Iran’s currency crisis and the Ahmadinejad administration’s poor fiscal control.