Iran’s Supreme Leader has called again for economic recovery, but without giving any indication of how that is to be achieved as Tehran faces more US sanctions.

Ayatollah Khamenei issued his injunction in a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and members of his Government on Saturday: “Economy must be the top priority of all members and sectors of the government.”

In the past, Khamenei has proclaimed salvation in the self-sufficiency of a “Resistance Economy”, but his substantial recommendation yesterday was limited to “the economic orientation of the country needs to evolve from the ‘oil and rentier economy’ to ‘productive and popular economy'”.

He also commanded “an intention of working for the sake of God when serving the people and resolving their problems”, “a spirit of working hard and selflessly”, “a close relationship with people to better understand the realities of their lives”, “a spirit of humbly interacting with the public and avoiding aristocracy”, and “looking for efficiency, religiosity, revolutionary spirit, perseverance and self-less endeavor when choosing staff”.

Khamenei said Rouhani and his ministers must serve the Iranian people and establish close links with them “to reach a better understanding of the realities of the people’s lives”. He called for patience and courage to implement decisions, including the development of “precise scientific plans”.

Perhaps most significantly, he appeared to acknowledge — in contrast to his normal proclamations of Iranian triumph over the “West” and other foes — economic difficulties, perhaps to put pressure on Rouhani:

According to these statistics, inflation has dropped from some percent…above 20 to below 10%, but has the purchasing power of people and the value of national currency risen on the same scale?….

The announced statistics are also true for the recession, but there are still many small and medium-sized units that are working under their capacity or are shut down, and this fact reveals that there is something wrong, which needs to be addressed.

Rouhani has made recovery his priority since taking office in 2013, and especially after implementation of the nuclear deal with the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, China, and Russia) in January 2016. But Iran has struggled to confirm the foreign trade and investment links needed, with European companies wary of possible US punishment, and internal battles — notably between the Government and the Revolutionary Guards — continue to hinder progress.

In recent months, Iran has finally begun to announce major contracts, such as a $4.8 billion deal with France’s Total to develop part of Iran’s South Pars gas field. However, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh says $200 billion is needed for the oil and gas sector, and the US Congress adopted new restrictions on Iran last month.

Before the Supreme Leader’s remarks, Rouhani pledged to deal with unemployment, especially among Iranian youth, with the vow to create more than 900,000 job opportunities every year. But he cautioned:

To reach 8% growth, we need $204bn new investment. To reach this goal, the administration’s budget is not enough and the banking system, the capital market, the National Development Fund, investment by the private sector, and foreign investment must help us.

Khamenei also made general comments yesterday about Iranian foreign policy, saying the Government must stand up to enemies and “fight against oppression and opposition to the hegemonic system”.

Rouhani said on Sunday, during a visit to the mauseloum of the Islamic Republic’s founder Ayatollah Khomeini, “We are not afraid of foreign threats and conspiracies, because we have learned from Imam [Khomeini] not to fear foreigners.”