Iran’s officials have declared that they will use bees to combat US sanctions and preserve the economy.

Iranian State media put out the message for World Bee Day, with officials proclaiming Iran as the world’s third- largest honey producer and a “sweet business which is growing by leaps and bounds”.

Press TV sees further profits: “Demand for honey is growing as awareness about health benefits of the sweet food and the importance of honey bees in the food chain is rising.”

Deputy Agriculture Minister Morteza Rezaei said Iran produces 90,000 metric tons of honey a year, with more than 1,700 tons exported. Up to 138,000 people are involved in production.

Rezaei saw opportunities in royal jelly, with an average price of $355/kg — and “this value can increase multi-fold if the royal jelly is turned into cosmetics and toiletries” — and in bee venom at $80 per gram.

The official placed bees at the heart of the Supreme Leader’s “Resistance Economy”, proclaimed since 2012 for self-sufficiency defying US-led sanctions.

“The industry is one of the key examples of resistance economy because it has the least dependence on imports,” he said.

“War Against Iranian Nation”

In a not-so-sweet message, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Iran is under pressure but will not “bow its head in the face of bullies.”

Inaugurating development projects such as dams in northwest Iran, Rouhani insisted that Iran is meeting economic challenges despite a 60% fall in oil exports, inflation of almost 50%, and problems with productivity, investment, employment, and a historically-weak currency.

“We have been witnessing prosperity across this land every day in this tough time and under sanctions.

“This is a very decisive response to the White House…and to those who reckon they can make the great nation of Iran buckle under their pressures.”

The Supreme Leader’s representative Saeed Jalili said that US sanctions amount to an all-out military conflict.

Jalili, the Leader’s representative at the Supreme National Security Council and a former chief nuclear negotiator, told an audience in Tehran:

“Someone in the US says we are after crippling sanctions, and officially announces his decision to impose ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran. Aren’t they a war against the Iranian nation?”