A senior aide to President Hassan Rouhnai Sunday called on the nation to unite and help confront the so-called "economic warfare" launched by the United States.
"The Americans presume they have started an all-out economic war against our country and think they will be able to cripple our economy through this war by forcing Iran to come to the negotiating table as said by the US president," First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri told an open session of parliament.
He was referring to Donald Trump's decision last month to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose economic sanctions on Iran, which has prompted several international companies to announce their exit from the Iranian market.
After announcing his controversial withdrawal from the nuclear agreement on May 8, Trump said Iran should either enter new nuclear negotiations or “something will happen,” according to Reuters.
"At this juncture, it is incumbent that all authorities, scholars, political parties and the people unite so that we can thwart this great conspiracy with honor and dignity," Jahangiri said, ISNA reported.
*** Need for Clarification
He added that the present state of affairs should be clearly explained to the people and authorities.
"It is indeed regrettable that we have not talked about the new conditions the country is facing in a clear, straightforward manner with the parliament, the administration and the people," he said, adding that that is why many senior officials are not fully abreast of what is going on.
The vice president was in the chamber to defend a proposal by the Rouhani administration to the Majlis to split three ministries.
*** Government Restructuring
The government has suggested that the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade be split into two, namely the ministry of industry and mines, and the trade ministry. It also wants the Ministry of Sports and Youth to be divided into a sports ministry and a national youth organization.
Under the proposal, the Roads and Urban Development Ministry should be broken up into the ministry of road and transport and the ministry of housing and urbanization.
Jahangiri said changes are necessary “to confront the sanctions and address economic woes that have negatively affected people's livelihood.”
He noted that the proposal does not contradict the notion of "downsizing" because it is a separate issue from reducing the workforce at state-run and affiliated organizations.
The Parliament rejected the outlines of the bill in an open session that was followed by a closed-door meeting, in which lawmakers and Cabinet members discussed a wide-range of pressing issues including rising prices and the chaos in the foreign exchange market.
*** Greater Unity
Speaking to reporters after the session, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani appealed for greater unity between various segments of society to help deal with the difficult economic conditions.
"Mischief by the United States as well as the country's domestic economic problems have created the current situation," he said, calling for a workable solution to the liquidity problems.
*** Liquidity Issues
High liquidity has contributed to the present economic problems, which should be tackled strongly so that liquidity can be directed to key profit-making sectors that contribute to higher national production, the speaker said.
He expressed hope that practical solutions can be found through continued negotiations between the legislature and the executive branch.
There has been growing discontent over the handling of the economy among the majority of Iranians, who are worried about the prospect of renewed sanctions after Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. The agreement lifted most international sanctions in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear program.
