Pezeshkian urges solidarity amid full-scale economic war with ‘enemy’
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian called for further unity and solidarity among government sectors as he underlined on Sunday that the Islamic Republic is in a full-scale economic war with “the enemy,” and pointing the finger of blame at “one person” would not address the country’s economic woes.
Pezeshkian made the remarks in an address to the Parliament where he defended his Finance Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati who was sacked by Iranian lawmakers on the same day after impeaching him over soaring inflation and a plunging national currency value.
“We are in a full-scale (economic) war with the enemy... we must take a war formation,” Pezeshkian said. “The economic problems of today’s society are not related to one person and we cannot blame it all on one person.”
On the black market on Sunday, the Iranian rial was trading at more than 920,000 to the US dollar, compared with less than 600,000 in mid-2024.
Pezeshkian took office in July with the aim of reviving the economy and ending decades of Western-imposed sanctions which have battered Iran’s economy, with double-digit inflation causing an increase in consumer prices since Washington unilaterally pulled out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.
The deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, provided for an easing of sanctions and the return of Western investment to Iran in return for limits on the country’s nuclear activities.
US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January, has revived his policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, further tightening restrictions on the Islamic republic but at the same time calling for talks.
Nevertheless, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, later rejected the idea of negotiations with the US altogether, saying that experience has proven that talks with US are “not smart, wise, or honorable”.
“I personally believe in dialogue, and I will continue to do so,” said Pezeshkian during the impeachment session.
“However, we will stand by the position the supreme leader has taken regarding America until the end, and we will not do anything else.”
Listing a series of problems facing the country after his inauguration in July, including Israel’s assassination of Hamas’ leader in Tehran, war in Gaza and Lebanon, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria as well as US’ maximum pressure on Iran, Pezeshkian said these problems have been added to the country’s woes during the last months.
“Today, some countries, such as Qatar, Iraq, and Turkey, have blockaded a large amount of our assets, and it is not possible to transfer them into the country,” the president said.
He also said the country’s oil and gas tankers are left on the seas after the US imposed new sanctions on Iran. The president noted that the enemy is systematically putting pressure on the country’s trade and economy.
However, he said that, “We must be vigilant,” and not allow the enemies’ policies to affect the country’s internal affairs. He also called for unity and solidarity to overcome the problems.