Iran’s leaders acknowledge economic toll of war, pledge diplomacy, defence

Iran’s president said sanctions and the US naval blockade had caused exports and imports to slump by astir 35 percent.

Iran’s leaders person acknowledged the mounting economical harm of six months of warfare with the United States, with the president saying overseas commercialized has shrunk by much than a 3rd nether US sanctions and a naval blockade.

The admissions came connected Saturday arsenic Tehran signalled it would not backmost down, pledging to withstand US pressure, prosecute diplomacy and support what it says is power implicit the Strait of Hormuz.

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The authorities said addressing the economical fallout was present a cardinal focus, including curbing inflation, creating jobs and gradually reducing dependence connected the dollar.

President Masoud Pezeshkian told authorities media that exports and imports had slumped astir 35 percent due to the fact that of sanctions and the blockade of Iranian ports.

He said Iran had nevertheless managed to merchantability astir 90 cardinal barrels of lipid during the short-lived Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Washington successful June, erstwhile lipid income were concisely permitted.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen publically since the US and Israel launched the warfare connected February 28 with an onslaught that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called connected the authorities to tackle the hardship.

“There is the request to earnestly code the concatenation of economical and livelihood challenges, ⁠such arsenic inflation, unemployment, absorption of prices and the marketplace for goods and services,” work a written connection attributed to Khamenei.

Annual ostentation deed 66 percent past month, and residents successful Tehran told Al Jazeera the warfare had upended regular life.

“Before the war, I didn’t work. Since the war, I’ve had to find a occupation to assistance enactment my household,” said Maryam. “Everything has go truthful expensive.”

Omid, who runs a nutrient business, said commercialized had dried up arsenic rents rose: “We tin hardly spend to wage our workers.”

Diplomacy and defence

In a connection connected Saturday, the authorities described diplomacy and defence arsenic “two complementary, coordinated and inseparable wings” for protecting nationalist interests and territorial integrity, saying it would prosecute some successful a balanced manner.

Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Tehran, said the authorities was promoting a connection of unity.

Pezeshkian has called for dialog and a little confrontational narration with neighbouring countries, saying nary of them ruled implicit the other, portion the ultimate person has urged home unity and the preservation of societal cohesion, she said.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met Iranian leaders successful Tehran connected Thursday, stressing the value of returning to unfastened shipping done the strait. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the talks arsenic “creative”.

Iran’s military, meanwhile, struck a defiant note, with service commander-in-chief Amir Hatami telling the Fars quality bureau that though the “enemy” had tried to destruct Iran’s drone and rocket capabilities, its stockpile had been fired “with the utmost strength until the past moment”.

On Friday, Acting Defence Minister Majid Ibn Reza said Iran had “surprises” successful store: “Everyone, and particularly the enemies, should cognize that they volition go alert of Iran’s surprises successful owed time,” according to the Tasnim News Agency.