The price pain has political consequences, even in tightly controlled Iran. In southern Tehran and some other cities, lower-income Iranians protested inflation and higher prices, newspapers reported. Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005 promising to spread Iran’s oil wealth to the people. He faces re-election in 2009. “Ahmadinejad promised to bring the oil money to our tables, but instead he is taking away the rice from our table,” said Masoumeh Nayyeri, a mother of five and a cleaner in Tehran. “Rice and bread were the only things we could afford. How will I feed my children now? Life becomes harder every day.”
