Iran President Pezeshkian calls for unity as US ramps up economic pressure

Tehran, Iran – President Masoud Pezeshkian has insisted that officials and Iranians will stand united in the face of United States economic pressure, saying national cohesion was enough to “neutralise” any attempts to create discord within the country.

The US announced an “Economic D-Day” against Tehran last month, the toughest sanctions regime in Washington’s history aimed at severing all economic lifelines that “sustain the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)”.

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Pezeshkian said the economic measures will not force his government to make any abrupt policy shifts, which might lead to further unrest in the country.

“Through war, blockade and sanctions, the enemies seek to create division, fissures and unrest inside the country,” the president reportedly told officials on Friday.

Pezeshkian was likely referring to events in 2019 and 2020, which began with protests against high fuel prices and unravelled into a wider antigovernment uprising.

“People are now on the edge; if I impose another pressure, they may fall off,” Pezeshkian reminded the country during a televised appearance earlier this week.

He did confirm that his administration will still double the price of one of three tiers of petrol quotas offered to private vehicles over the coming weeks and reduce monthly petrol quotas.

Iran still faces critical energy supply shortages due to rampant fuel smuggling, severe damage or neglect of oil and gas infrastructure, and expensive yet low-quality, fuel-hungry vehicles.

But any wider petrol price hike would impact logistics costs and feed rampant inflation, which is affecting all Iranian households, the president has indicated.

Iran’s national currency hit a new all-time low of more than 2.25 million rials per US dollar when Tehran’s market opened for the start of the working week on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the ongoing military confrontation between Iran and the US, which has been a major catalyst for Tehran’s present economic decline, shows no sign of abating.

The US military bombed an oil tanker near Iran’s Kharg Island on Saturday, several days after another round of attacks on southern Iran and shipping in Hormuz.

Washington has prevented Iranian tankers from leaving the country’s southern shores as part of its naval blockade to choke off crude exports.

Iran’s government has said it will return to commitments under a memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Tehran in June but that fell apart shortly after, if the US does the same.

‘National security’

The compounding pressures and rising public discontent have prompted news warnings from Iranian authorities about potential public unrest in recent weeks.

At the end of August, the intelligence directorate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that the US, Israel and their Western allies have shifted towards “pressure from within” to compel protests from Iranians.

Last week, judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei warned that his judges will prosecute those found to be damaging national security “more decisively than all previous eras”, as Iranian enemies seek to stoke unrest, he said.

“The fourth battlefield is the street – the social field,” Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, naming the other three elements as military operations, diplomatic talks, and economic services to the people.

Police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan also identified livelihoods, unemployment, the economy and petrol as possible “pretexts” for localised or nationwide protests. He ordered continuous monitoring and the readiness of forces under his control to prepare for unrest.

The latest message attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in late August also indicated a focus on national unity.

“I declare decisively that anything harmful to social cohesion is prohibited,” the statement read, which has been adorned on posters and banners by his supporters across the country.

Civil authorities have also intensified punishments against people and businesses found to be acting against national security.

On Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Court confirmed that prominent businessman Sadegh Saedinia was sentenced to at least 12.5 years in prison and will have his millions of dollars in assets confiscated by the state for what they said was support for nationwide protests in January.

His brand – which included cafes, food companies and hospitality complexes across the country – had posted two Instagram stories to announce a strike in support of the protesters. Saedinia later released a “confession” to say he regretted the action.

Iranian authorities classify the January nationwide protests as a “coup” orchestrated by the US, Israel and their allies, and carried out by armed agents inside the country.

Some of the dozens who have been executed by judicial authorities since the start of the war with the US on February 28 were said to be involved in these protests.