Ayatollah Khamenei Claims Regional Threats Against Iran Have Been Turned into 'Opportunities'

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran, declared 2018 as the year of 'Support for Iranian Goods' and stated that the Islamic Republic has turned 'regional threats into opportunities' over the past year. According to the IRNA news agency, the leader mentioned in his Nowruz message on Tuesday, March 20, that the 'national presence of the people' in the presidential and council elections and participation in government rallies were among the 'sweetness' of 2017. He also stated: 'The Iranian nation, including those whom the enemies intended to label as the instigators of unrest, stood against the rioters, and this incident further illuminated the greatness of the Iranian nation.' Khamenei's remarks come amid protests in December where some demonstrators chanted slogans against all officials of the Islamic Republic, and in the following days, some protesters expressed support for the Pahlavi dynasty and called for regime change. These protests ended with the suppression of demonstrators, resulting in at least 25 deaths and 5,000 arrests according to official reports. Reports also indicated the deaths of at least seven others during these protests, but Iranian officials have denied these reports. Khamenei further stated: 'One of the goals of regional threats was to harm Iran, but the Islamic Republic not only did not allow these threats to harm the country but turned them into opportunities.' In 2017, relations between the Islamic Republic and countries such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain deteriorated. During the same year, U.S. President Donald Trump and European countries repeatedly warned about Iran's 'destabilizing' actions in the region. Meanwhile, a day before Khamenei's remarks, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian emphasized the preservation of the JCPOA and called on the European Union to impose sanctions on Iran's missile program and actions in the Middle East. The continuation of Iran's nuclear agreement remains uncertain, as President Trump threatened on January 12 that he would not extend the suspension of nuclear sanctions under this agreement unless his fundamental concerns were addressed. The deadline set by Trump ends on May 12, 2018. Khamenei also stated that the 'main issue' for 2018, like previous years, is 'the economy and the livelihood of the people.' He named 2018 as the year of 'Support for Iranian Goods' and added: 'If national production accelerates with collective effort and follow-up, many of the people's livelihood problems and issues of employment and investment will be resolved, and social harms will significantly decrease.' Khamenei also mentioned that the 'audience' of this slogan includes all segments of the nation, including officials, and everyone must work hard and strive. He had previously named 2012 as the year of 'National Production, Support for Iranian Work and Capital,' during which Iran's economic growth was negative 5.8 percent. The Supreme Leader announces a theme for each year. He named 2016 as 'Resistance Economy, Action and Practice' and 2017 as 'Resistance Economy: Production-Employment.' 'Resistance Economy' is used to describe an economy that is independent of foreign countries, especially during sanctions. Officials in Hassan Rouhani's government have spoken of forming a 'Resistance Economy Headquarters' to implement the Supreme Leader's directives. However, some experts have described the annual naming by the Supreme Leader as a ceremonial action that only leads to meetings held by government institutions afterward. Khamenei's emphasis on economic issues comes at a time when some experts consider the activities of economic and military institutions under the Supreme Leader as part of Iran's economic problems. In this context, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrote in a letter to Khamenei on March 11 that the 15 Khordad Foundation, the Foundation of the Oppressed, the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command, the Foundation of the IRGC, the Foundation of the Army, the Foundation of the Basij, the Foundation of the Ministry of Defense, and the economic sector of the Imam's Relief Committee have 'over 700 trillion tomans in wealth, of which the people are unaware of their work reports, income, and expenditure locations.'