Rising prices in Iran have even reached cemeteries. A review of advertisements shows that the price of a three-tier grave in some plots in Behesht Zahra Cemetery has reached three billion tomans; more than 8.6 times the official tariff. In cemeteries in Kermanshah, Kerman, Karaj, Yazd, and Mashhad as well, graves priced in the billions have been advertised.

The cost of death is not limited to the grave. Burial, transfer of the body, a gravestone, flowers, catering, and ceremonies for around 100 people can cost between 120 and 180 million tomans.

Iran International spoke with sellers in Tehran and Kermanshah who said they sell burial plots—for themselves or for their relatives—to cover living expenses. Execution-of-judgments documents also show that burial rights are sometimes put up for auction in order to collect debts.

At the same time, reports have been published about the transfer of city residents’ bodies to cheaper or even free cemetery grounds in villages.

For some families, the pressure is not only economic. In cases involving some of the killed during protests and executed individuals, reports have surfaced of demands for money to hand over the body or to announce the burial location. In such circumstances, the burial plot has become an asset that some are forced to sell in order to cover today’s costs.