Addressing workers on Wednesday, the Supreme Leader told them to produce more to get Iran out of its economic difficulties.
Ayatollah Khomeini declared, “If economic problems are to be solved, attention should be focused on domestic production.”
Khamenei tried to separate the situation from nuclear talks with the 5+1 Parties, including discussion of the lifting of sanctions on Tehran: “The key to solving economic problems is not in Lausanne, Geneva, and New York but inside Iran and based on boosting domestic production.”
However, he then acknowledged that Iran’s position rested in part on the strength or weakness of its economy:
Any govt w a strong economic background will negotiate from a powerful stance. Negotiating from a stance of need makes the enemy aggressive.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) April 29, 2015
The Iranian economy has been crippled by the 40% fall in oil exports since 2012, compounded by the drop of more than 50% in the global price since last June, with the Government facing a hole in its 2015-16 budget because of the reduction of revenues by $70 billion. Sanctions, mismanagement, and corruption have restricted investment and production in other areas, leading to a rise in unemployment and tensions over the Iranian Rial.
The Supreme Leader has issued a series of injunctions to Iranians to do more to retrieve the situation, labeling 2011 “The Year of Economic Jihad” and 2012 “The Year of National Production and Supporting Iranian Labor and Capital”. He has declared that a “Resistance Economy” will be established to withstand the pressure of continued sanctions.
On Wednesday, he added, “We need to take action and stop corruption in the true sense of the word.”
