Veep praises Iranians for foiling Israel’s overthrow plot
First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said on Friday that Iranians thwarted the enemies’ plan to “subvert” the Islamic Republic during the 12-day-long aggression that Israel launched on June 13.
“It became clear that the enemies came with the intention of subversion,” Aref said at a meeting with Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh and a group of former economic officials.
He added that Iran’s adversaries had miscalculated the public’s response to the conflict.
“The enemies expected people to take to the streets on the second day of war, and that by the third day Iran would enter negotiations to surrender — but we saw what really happened, and their analysis proved wrong,” Aref pointed out.
The senior official hailed the Iranian public for maintaining economic discipline under pressure, noting that “contrary to expectations, there was no rush whatsoever” to shop for essential goods.
He went on to call the Iranian people “the commanders and generals of the economic front” and lauded local shopkeepers who sold their goods “at cost or even for free” during the war, which came to a halt on June 25 under a US-proposed cease-fire.
Aref said Iran had achieved success on the economic front during the conflict “because of the presence of the people,” and urged continued calm and preservation of “social capital, which is the backbone of victory on all fronts”.
Reiterating the government’s priorities, he stressed that public welfare and the economy remain “a fundamental principle and the top priority of all our plans”.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Aref urged political groups to promote national unity as “our collective covenant” that must be upheld “in action, not just in words and statements”.
He added that the Pezeshkian government welcomed “practical proposals” from experts and political factions to help steer the country forward.
“No party, group, or organization has submitted even a single-page letter with an executable suggestion; Instead, only slogans or general guidance were offered — guidance that only has value when coupled with practical proposals,” Aref said.