Rouhani's Promise to the People: No Problems Will Arise for the Country

Iran's President on Saturday, referring to the increase in U.S. sanctions against Iran, stated that "the government promises the people that there will be no problems for the country in the fields of energy, transportation, essential goods, and production." Hassan Rouhani added that "today we are stronger than yesterday in confronting the plots of the enemies and continuing our path, and the people should be assured that although there will be pressures, we can manage the lives of the people in the country with the support of the people and successfully overcome the problems." According to the Iranian presidential website, Hassan Rouhani made this statement on Saturday, July 13, at the end of a meeting of the heads of the branches of government. These remarks come a day after Bloomberg reported on the negative response of U.S. Secretary of State and Treasury Secretary to European requests for exemptions from unilateral sanctions against Iran aimed at applying "unprecedented economic pressure" on the Islamic Republic. According to this report, Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, and Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, stated that this pressure will continue until there is "a tangible, observable, and sustained change" in Tehran's policies. Rouhani's "promise" regarding the lack of problems in the energy, transportation, essential goods, and production sectors comes at a time when Iran has recently faced power outages and interruptions in its water and electricity exports, and various problems have emerged in the other sectors mentioned by Rouhani. In this context, the recent increase in the prices of spare parts, especially tires and oil, due to fluctuations in the currency market following the U.S. exit from the JCPOA, was one of the reasons for the widespread truck drivers' strike in Iran. In the aviation sector, Farzaneh Sharafbafi, CEO of Iran Air, recently stated in a meeting with the Tehran prosecutor regarding the ongoing delays of Iran Air flights that "the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan, and neighboring countries in the aviation industry is better than Iran's because we are under sanctions and face difficulties in obtaining two aircraft parts." After the signing of the nuclear agreement, many companies from Germany, France, Italy, South Korea, and Japan intended to invest several billion dollars in Iran's railways, but after the U.S. exit from the JCPOA, many of these companies have also announced the possibility of withdrawing from Iran, casting doubt on the prospects for Iran's rail development. In the field of essential goods, the pharmaceutical supply sector has long faced problems due to sanctions-related restrictions on banking transactions with Iran, and this issue continues with many medications. The U.S. officially exited the JCPOA on May 8, and subsequently, a U.S. State Department official announced that the implementation of a new round of severe sanctions against Iran would begin on August 4, and the section related to energy and banking transactions would start on November 4. According to Brian Hook, the U.S. State Department's policy director, since May 8, more than 50 international companies, especially in the energy and financial sectors, have announced their intention to terminate their transactions with Iran. On Saturday, Rouhani did not provide details on how to resolve the issues in the energy, transportation, essential goods, and production sectors, but Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, head of the Planning and Budget Organization, recently reported sending the first part of a comprehensive proposed plan to counter U.S. sanctions against Iran to the President. The first part of this comprehensive plan includes 12 items. The methods for securing essential goods and energy, providing for the livelihoods of the poor and reducing absolute poverty, controlling and managing liquidity growth, and creating facilities for public-private participation in construction projects are among these items. Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president, also recently mentioned in a meeting of the Resistance Economy Headquarters that one of the strategies to counter U.S. sanctions is bartering oil for essential goods. On Saturday, Rouhani also commented that "today we are in a situation where the U.S. is more isolated than ever in this sanctions issue" and stated that "the path and policy of the U.S. towards Iran, the region, the Islamic world, and even its allies cannot continue."