Iran’s leadership has acknowledged a significant and escalating economic toll resulting from six months of war with the United States, with President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasizing the shrinking of foreign trade and the impact of US sanctions and naval blockade operations.
The admissions came on Saturday, signaling a commitment to withstand US pressure and pursue diplomacy alongside a defensive posture, maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz.
The government stated that exports and imports had slumped nearly 35 percent due to sanctions and the blockade of Iranian ports, with the Ministry of Economic Affairs reporting that 90 million barrels of oil were sold during the short-lived Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in June, when oil sales were briefly permitted.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been publicly visible since the launch of the war on February 28th with an attack that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on the government to address the hardships faced by citizens, particularly concerning inflation, unemployment, and the management of prices and goods markets.
An annual inflation rate of 66 percent was reported last month, with residents in Tehran citing the war as having upended daily life. “Before the war, I didn’t work. Since the war, I’ve had to find a job to help support my household,” said Maryam. “Everything has become so expensive.”
Omid, who runs a food business, added that trade had dried up as rents rose: “We can barely afford to pay our workers.” In a statement on Saturday, the government described diplomacy and defense as “two complementary, coordinated, and inseparable wings” for protecting national interests and territorial integrity, stating it would pursue both in a balanced manner.
The Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu reported from Tehran, noting that the government was promoting a message of unity among Iran’s neighbors, while the supreme leader has urged domestic unity and the preservation of social cohesion, emphasizing the need to return to open shipping through the strait.
Omid, Iran’s Foreign Minister, stated that Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met Iranian leaders in Tehran, stressing the importance of restoring open shipping through the Strait. Iran’s military, meanwhile, struck a defiant note, with army commander-in-chief Amir Hatami telling the Fars news agency that although the ‘enemy’ had tried to destroy Iran’s drone and missile capabilities, its stockpile had been fired ‘with the utmost intensity until the last moment’.
Acting Defence Minister Majid Ibn Reza said Iran had ‘surprises’ in store: “Everyone, and especially the enemies, should know that they will become aware of Iran’s surprises in due time,” according to the Tasnim News Agency.
Source: Al Jazeera
