The Mehr news agency said the Majlis approved a bill Sunday that specifically says the administration is not be allowed to make welfare payments from revenues gained through selling foreign currency earned through exports of crude oil and gas condensates.
It isn’t clear that this will actually have any impact. For one thing, President Ahmadi-nejad has a long history of just ignoring statutes passed by the Majlis, and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi has declined to rein him in despite appeals from the Majlis.
But Ahmadi-nejad could presumably order foreign exchange to be sold for other reasons. Then, once the rials were in the treasury, he could use them for any purpose, including payment of welfare benefits.
It also isn’t clear what the Majlis gains from the new legislation. If Ahmadi-nejad announces that he cannot a make a monthly welfare payment because of the Majlis action, the public fury will focus on the Majlis, not the president.
Ahmadi-nejad might actually gain from that scenario. On the one hand, he would avoid driving the government deeper in debt, while at the same time he could turn public anger away from him and toward the Majlis.
The Ahmadi-nejad Administration presented the draft of the national budget bill for the current Iranian year 1391 on February 1. In that, he proposed that revenues from reducing subsidies on goods be increased from about $44 billion to $110 billion, making more funds available for welfare payments.
Reportedly, the administration had decided to suddenly free up energy prices to market levels. But the Majlis has not yet approved any increase in the welfare program.
In the Islamic Republic, every citizen qualifies for a monthly welfare payment of equal size regardless of income level.