Despite frequent reforms, the government budgeting system in Iran continues to grapple with structural and chronic issues, which have become more pronounced over the past decade due to declining economic growth, double-digit inflation, eroding purchasing power, and pressures stemming from sanctions. One of the primary roots of this situation is the dominance of a "resource scarcity" mindset in public financial management, which has driven policies toward aggressive resource creation (expanding dedicated revenues, asset disposals, and financial instruments) while reinforcing consequences such as inefficiency, reduced staff welfare, and heightened risks of corruption. Conversely, another perspective emphasizing state downsizing and the delegation of public services to the private sector—disregarding the low ratio of government current expenditures to gross domestic product—has led to flawed forms of privatization and corporate employment without adequate social protection or insurance systems. Structural analysis reveals that the budget crisis is the product of the interaction among actors' powers and responsibilities, administrative and legal formulation and execution processes, and institutional frameworks such as centralization and oil dependency; ignoring these layers has reduced reforms to superficial changes. Proposed strategies include enacting a comprehensive budgeting law, formulating a five-year medium-term budget, establishing program-based performance budgeting, reforming the accounting system toward accrual accounting, and redefining the budget-oil nexus through the strengthening of the National Development Fund and fiscal rule-making.