Worst of times for Iran

Despite a surge in oil revenues, Iran's kleptocracy has pushed conditions in the country to the point of Dickensian poverty. The prices of ordinary goods are soaring out of people's reach, property values in Tehran are equal to those of Paris, and prostitutes and profiteers are everywhere. And the disappearance of half the country's oil revenues from the books makes President Mahmud Adhmadinejad's tenure the worst of times for Iran.