Iran government sells subsidized meat for Eid al-Adha amid lockdown
Maziar Motamedi
Iranians are facing soaring meat and essential goods prices due to U.S. sanctions and lockdowns. For Eid al-Adha this year, Tehran authorities are selling sacrificial meat at subsidized prices to curb inflation. The move comes as demand for red meat has fallen 50% year-on-year, with many families switching to cheaper alternatives.
Eid al-Adha, one of the most important Muslim holidays, arrives at a sensitive time for Iranians this year. Meat from sacrificed animals traditionally appears on family tables, but U.S. port blockades and sanctions have driven up living costs nationwide.
Unlike Nowruz (Persian New Year), Eid al-Adha is not widely celebrated in Iran, yet mosques and religious organizations maintain the ritual of animal sacrifice – known as qurbani – through licensed breeding and slaughter centers. Animals are sacrificed according to Islamic law in hygienic conditions, and this network also aims to curb inflation by offering meat at below-market prices.
Tehran municipality authorities announced on Tuesday that each kilogram of sacrificial meat would be sold for 7.4 million rials (about $4.30) at designated outlets. By contrast, similar meat on the open market can cost three times as much, depending on quality and location. Iran's current minimum wage is less than $100 per month.
A middle-aged woman living with her husband and son in Tehran shared: 'I usually buy meat for stew or a few dishes about once every three weeks; for some families in the neighborhood, meat has become a luxury.' She told Al Jazeera that chicken, eggs, and legumes have replaced red meat, but the cost of these basics has also risen significantly.
Masoud Rasouli, a representative of the meat packaging industry, told Mehr news agency earlier this week that red meat demand had dropped 50% compared to last year. He said some meat had been imported to counter the impact of U.S. sanctions, but domestic demand is now so low that 'the existing livestock herd can meet all market needs.'
Data from Iran's Statistical Center shows year-on-year inflation exceeded 73% in the first month of the Persian calendar year (ending late April). Iranian rice surged 173% and chicken 191% from a year earlier, while liquid cooking oil more than quadrupled. Data for the following month is expected to be even worse.
Price controls – imposed by authorities to combat a decade of runaway inflation – cannot adequately compensate for the declining purchasing power of Iranian households under the impact of domestic mismanagement, U.S. sanctions, and now war and blockades. A young employee at a butcher shop in southwest Tehran said they had raised prices several times in recent months after suppliers announced increases. 'Revenue is slightly higher today due to Eid, but we see even regular customers coming less often. Most conversations with customers revolve around prices,' he told Al Jazeera.
Iran and the United States have held negotiations through regional intermediaries to end the war. However, amid exchanges of fire and rigidity over demands, no breakthrough has emerged, though both sides say most of the memorandum has been negotiated.
Beyond greetings and phone calls to regional partners, the Iranian administration also used this year's Islamic festival to deliver political messages. On Wednesday morning in the capital, authorities held a large Eid prayer service at Tehran University, led by hardline cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami. He said 'submitting to humiliation' is an example of 'evil' and the peak of sin, in a context where he believes the other side – the United States – wants Iran to surrender. 'Your enemy, the enemy of the Iranian people, and the crazy enemy sitting in the Black House – which they mistakenly call the White House – wants your humiliation. But that madman will take that wish to his grave,' he said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump.
President Masoud Pezeshkian takes a relatively softer approach, but his comments still carry religious overtones. 'In today's chaotic world, where the flames of oppression, occupation, and arrogance of hegemonic powers burn brightly, Eid al-Adha conveys a message of dignity, freedom, and courage before the Pharaohs of our time,' he said. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed hope for harmony in the Muslim world in a message on Wednesday, amid difficulties in the region. 'We pray that, through the fortune and blessings of this great Eid, we will see the deepening and strengthening of Islamic unity for cooperation and mutual support in facing war, discrimination, and occupation, especially in West Asia, and that our world will return to a path of restoring peace and justice,' he said.
