Did Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian admit that US sanctions affecting Tehran's economy? Here's what he said
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Did Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian admit that US sanctions affecting Tehran's economy? Here's what he said")
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Photograph: (AFP)
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian admits US sanctions are hurting Iran’s economy as trade falls and fuel shortages raise concerns over petrol prices
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has acknowledged that US sanctions are putting significant pressure on the country’s economy, days after saying the latest measures from Washington would not achieve their intended goal. In an interview with Iranian state television late on Friday, Pezeshkian addressed claims that sanctions have little or no impact on Iran’s economy.
"Some say sanctions have no effect at all; to those people, I really don't know what to say," Pezeshkian said. "We are in a war situation, and we must accept these wartime conditions," he added. The comments came days after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans aimed at intensifying economic pressure on Tehran. On Monday, Bessent described the strategy as ‘economic asphyxiation’ and warned that countries failing to cooperate with the US campaign could face serious consequences.
The latest measures add to a sanctions framework imposed by the US and its allies since 2018. That year, then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the international nuclear agreement with Tehran and subsequently restored sweeping sanctions against Iran.
Iran trade hit by sanctions
Pezeshkian said Iran’s imports and exports have declined by between 25% and 35% in recent months, which he attributed to the growing pressure on the country’s trade and the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. The economic strain has also raised concerns about fuel supplies and domestic petrol prices. Pezeshkian said petrol prices should be adjusted to reflect the decline in trade and proposed increasing the price of fuel under Iran’s highest consumption quota.
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"We should raise the price of the third-tier quota... For example, from 5,000 tomans to 10,000 tomans," he said. Iran uses multiple fuel-pricing tiers to determine how much consumers pay for petrol. The issue is politically sensitive because the country is a major oil producer and has traditionally provided heavily subsidised fuel, keeping petrol prices among the lowest in the world. Iranian Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said on Wednesday that the US blockade had made it difficult for Tehran to import enough petrol to compensate for a shortfall in domestic production.
Pezeshkian changes tone on sanctions
Pezeshkian’s latest remarks appear to mark a shift from his position earlier in the week. On Wednesday, the Iranian president had dismissed the impact of the latest US sanctions, saying they would not succeed in changing Iran’s position. "We will stand firm against economic pressures, as we have done so far and will continue to do," Pezeshkian told state media. His latest comments, however, highlight the mounting economic challenges facing Iran as sanctions, restrictions on trade and fuel-supply concerns put additional pressure on the country’s economy.
