Iranian woman searching in trash for food to feed her children

                 
                     Poverty forcing Iranians to literally search trash for food

A 26-year old woman in the Ahmad Abad region of Mashhad, northeastern Iran, is searching the trash to find food for her children.
Her husband is in a drug addicts’ camp and she is forced to such measures to provide for the needs of her children and herself.
While talking to this woman municipality agents were patrolling the area and came up to us. By threatening Zahra they tried to confiscate her supplies.
The agents told the woman, “The mayor lives in this area, the deputy mayor lives in this area, and the city council members live in this area, and if they see you here they will punish us. Go and search in another area! Don’t roam in this area,” they told the poor lady.
What is the reason behind this widespread poverty in a country with so much natural wealth?