This week parliament passed the President’s budget which included cutting the state’s generous subsidies for food and energy, subsidies that have long kept the price of a litre of petrol at ten cents for limited amounts. This budget is trying to balance the books, but commentators are saying it could send Iran’s inflation rate up to 30%. This will hurt all wage earners, especially those who work for the massive state sector, because their salaries cannot keep up with inflation. Add to this the shortage of gasoline due to the Iran’s lack of refineries and the US’s keenness to put sanctions on imported petrol, and there could be very steep rises at the pumps. During the 1980’s when Iran experienced galloping inflation everyone talked prices, especially food. It looks as if it will be time to talk prices again, as expensive petrol impacts the whole retail trade. .Christians too will be hit by this inflation and will need to be ready to sacrifice more to get around.

Pray for

• Wisdom for officials responsible for Iran’s finances
• Safety nets for the vulnerable
• Christians to look to God to supply their needs, whatever the price of petrol.

According to the Health Minister, Marziyeh Vahid-Dastjerdi, the number of people being diagnosed with cancer is set to triple over the next ten years. She mainly puts the expected increase down to people’s diet and lack of physical exercise. Given the impressive expansion of the nation’s health care in recent years cancer patients can expect reasonable treatment. There is a network of clinics across the country, and some Iranians are at the forefront of international research.

There are many testimonies in Iran where the family of the ill call on Christians to come and pray. So when cancer strikes a family, Christians need wisdom. As death looms on the horizon, people need to hear about eternal life in Jesus Christ. Certainly there should be prayer for healing, but Christians should also make sure that the patients are ready for eternity.

Pray for

• All health professionals dealing with cancer
• Christians to know when to pray for healing
• Christians to learn how to prepare people for death

Iran has serious health issues, mainly related to smoking and diet and drugs, but as the revolution comes to its 31^st birthday party, the men and women at the frontline of health care deserve praise. For overall Iran’s health in the last two decades has improved, especially in the area of infant mortality. In 1970 it was 122 per thousand, now it is just 28. This is still more than Europe and America, usually under 5, but much less than some other Asian and African countries. In neighbouring Azerbaijan it is 72 and in Nigeria it is 109. Primary health care has been extended throughout the country, and there are nearly 500 government funded hospitals which treat people without insurance. However 70% of Iranians have some sort of medical cover, which entitles people to better care.  Around fifty years ago there was a shortage of medical experts – now there is a surplus. Another part of this success story is that many of the new professionals are women. They are the backbone of Iran’s health system. Over the last thirty years Iranian society has faced many stresses, but overall, the approach to health has been one that should be celebrated.

Pray for

• Doctors and nurses engaged in frontline health care
• Funding to continue to expand health care
• Christians to be a part of the health system

Last week yet another old Russian Tupolov plane got into trouble. Its rear end burst into flames as it landed at Mashad airport. There were 147 passengers on board, with thirteen crew. Thankfully nobody was killed, but at least 46 people were injured. The news will make Iranian flyers nervous. Last summer a plane crash landed, again in Mashad, and killed 17 people; and a few weeks earlier another of these Tupolovs caught fire over northern Iran and fell out of the sky. All 168 people on board lost their lives. In such a vast country many have to fly to get to urgent meetings, but the frequency of these incidents is creating an image that the skies are not safe, especially if you end up in one of these old Russian planes.

Pray for

• Comfort for those who have had near death flying experiences
• Thorough enquiry into state of aviation so skies become safe
• Stricter inspection regime for civilian planes

According to the Mehr News agency the government has closed down fifteen major pyramid selling schemes in the last three months. With their ‘get rich quick’ promises these unsustainable schemes are a sign of the times in Iran. Unemployment runs at about 12%, inflation at around 13% and house prices are rising far more steeply than wages. Pyramid schemes are illegal in Iran, as they are in most countries. They are scams. You pay an expensive fee to be enrolled as a ‘business’ partner, and told you will get your money back, and much more, as you recruit others, and as they go on to recruit others, so you get a ‘cut’. The only people who usually make any money are the ‘pharaohs’ right at the top. A government official has warned that those found guilty of launching these schemes could face harsh punishment for being ‘a corrupt person on the earth.’

Pray for

• Success for the government in exposing pyramid scams
• Wisdom for those in charge of ensuring the economy delivers jobs and low inflation
• Christians to keep away from the desire to be rich, as instructed to by Paul (1 Tim. 6:9)

It’s not a good season for marriage. There should be about 1.65 marriages being registered each year in Iran, appropriate to the number of eligible people. But it’s about half that. Since celibacy has never been much of an option in Iranian culture – nearly everyone marries – this must mean there are lots of people who want to marry, but can’t afford to. And that’s not surprising since property values in Tehran and other cities have doubled in the last couple of years. This means two middle class young adults earning a reasonable monthly salary can not contemplate buying their own home. Those who do wed often end up having to live with their parents, not the perfect recipe for harmony, and with the latest report from the country’s Information and Statistics Centre saying divorce is set to hit every one out of eight marriages, it wouldn’t be surprising if again the estate agent is being blamed. But property is the number two enemy. The number one enemy of marriage in Iran, and most of the world, is infidelity, which for most Iranian women includes their husband having a ‘temporary’ marriage.

Pray for

• Imaginative resolution to housing crisis for couples wanting to marry
• Church to reach out more to keep couples together
• Churches to preach with passion for purity in sexual relationships

The head of Iran’s Drugs Control Headquarters, General Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam has told a news agency that the death rate for the country’s estimated six million addicts has improved from twelve (2007-8) to nine a day (2008-9). He called addiction the country’s worst social problem. The main drugs used are heroin and opium which pour in from Afghanistan despite the government’s efforts to stem the flow. Addicts are not limited to the poor. Recent research shows that 40% are self employed, 30% of them have a university education, and over 7% work for the government. It is a curse spread over all classes. In many churches there are individuals who have been gloriously freed from addiction by Jesus Christ. However still more training is needed, so that Christians can more effectively counter this curse.

Pray for

• Millions of addicts to hear about Christ
• More training for Christians in reaching addicts
• Churches to know how to handle desperate addicts – and their families

Heart disease is a big killer in Iran. It is quite normal to hear of men in their forties suddenly keeling over with a heart attack, the cruel price tag for the constant delight of eating Iran’s national favourite high in fat dish, rice and kebab. Smoking doesn’t help. Recently ex-health minister and paediatrician Al-Akbar Savari told the Mehr News Agency that a staggering 25 million Iranians were overweight, and so at risk, including 12% of the nation’s children which has resulted in more youngster being diagnosed with diabetes. Quite rightly Mr Akbari is calling for a nationwide campaign to improve people’s diet, and increase exercise. The church is not immune to heart attacks, and can use Scripture’s emphasis on keeping the temple of the Holy Spirit in good shape to support this campaign.

Pray for

• Government efforts to warn about heart disease and diet
• Church to preach on importance of physical fitness and fasting
• Comfort for Christians who have lost loved ones to heart attacks

Getting around Tehran used to be stressful as grid-lock was the norm. But then in 1999 the long awaited Metro opened and is now used by over a million passengers a day travelling on five lines. The service is clean, efficient, and it has had a major impact on lessening traffic congestion. At present the Tehran Metro is operated by the municipal council, but President Ahmadinejad wants it to come under the central government. And this has started alarm bells ringing because the central government is responsible for developing underground transport in other major cities, where it is said progress is slow. Ordinary passengers are not concerned with who operates the service, only that it is efficient – and safe. Tehran is built on several fault lines, so extra spending on protection is crucial. Christians, like everyone else, enjoy the Metro, not least because they often end up sitting next to people who might like to talk.

Pray for

• Ongoing success of Tehran’s Metro
• Safety and protection
• Christians to have many good journeys

A desolate landscape of desert and scrubland, Iran’s largest province is poor. Life expectancy for the nearly two million people is ten years less than the rest of the country. The annual income per head is less than a quarter of the average. Unemployment is widespread – as is crime and drug trafficking. It is Iran’s wild East. And since 2003, when Jundullah’ (The Soldiers of God) began a Sunni terrorist campaign against the government, the province has become a lot more dangerous, especially for Revolutionary Guards, many who are there trying to stop the drug trade. Several hundred have been killed. Jundullah’s most recent attack was a devastating suicide bomb which murdered 42 people, including six officers of the Revolutionary Guards. The Sunni group claim their aim is to defend their religious and tribal identity which they say Tehran wants to undermine. Sadly this province of Iran has remained virtually unreached for the Gospel. There are no established churches in the province, no reports of underground networks. The only Christians there would be secret, and isolated. Regarding resources, the Jesus film and some Scriptures are available in Baluchi. Usually a strong church translates into a more stable and prosperous society. It would be the same for Baluchistan.

Pray for

• For protection of government officials from violence
• For wisdom for officials responsible for developing Baluchistan
• For Iranian Christians to be sent to preach the Gospel there