AFP, Tehran :
Iran’s supreme leader said Sunday that the economy must come first, insisting in a Persian new year’s day message that domestic production is the best route to a strong recovery.
The Nowruz holiday comes just two months after implementation began of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers led by the United States, triggering the lifting of a raft of international sanctions and raising the prospect of renewed foreign investment.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said repeatedly that foreign investment will only help if it is used to develop Iran’s domestic industries.
“Hopes exist for the year 1395… but to achieve these hopes we must make efforts day and night without interruption,” Khamenei said in a pre-recorded television address.
“The economy must be our priority,” he said, dubbing 1395 “the year of the resistance economy and action”.
The ending of the 13-year standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme has raised expectations of recovery after years of economic difficulties, including high inflation which dramatically reduced Iranians’ purchasing power.
The economy exited a deep recession little more than a year ago. But although international oil sales have resumed and exports risen since the nuclear deal went into effect in January, the price of crude means receipts have been low, and growth remains weak.
Iran’s supreme leader said Sunday that the economy must come first, insisting in a Persian new year’s day message that domestic production is the best route to a strong recovery.
The Nowruz holiday comes just two months after implementation began of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers led by the United States, triggering the lifting of a raft of international sanctions and raising the prospect of renewed foreign investment.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said repeatedly that foreign investment will only help if it is used to develop Iran’s domestic industries.
“Hopes exist for the year 1395… but to achieve these hopes we must make efforts day and night without interruption,” Khamenei said in a pre-recorded television address.
“The economy must be our priority,” he said, dubbing 1395 “the year of the resistance economy and action”.
The ending of the 13-year standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme has raised expectations of recovery after years of economic difficulties, including high inflation which dramatically reduced Iranians’ purchasing power.
The economy exited a deep recession little more than a year ago. But although international oil sales have resumed and exports risen since the nuclear deal went into effect in January, the price of crude means receipts have been low, and growth remains weak.
