‘Mental chaos’ in Iran: Is government helping people, or harming?

For Iranians overwhelmed by economic, health, and political hardships, the historical irony on display at the sprawling Behesht-e Zahra (Zahra’s Paradise) cemetery, Tehran’s largest, could not be more acute.

It was there that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, upon his return from exile in February 1979 to launch Iran’s Islamic revolution, promised Iranians a “rich, satisfying life,” and told them to expect more than new homes, free water and electricity, and free bus rides.

“Don’t be satisfied just by those,” the charismatic Shiite cleric declared. “We will exalt your souls.”

Yet 43 years later, from Behesht-e Zahra and numerous other cemeteries across the country, reports emerged in December of a rash of thefts born of economic desperation so severe that thieves are stealing gravestones and reselling them at a discount after grinding off the names of the deceased. 

Grim as that cemetery desecration may be, for Iranians it is just one more