Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei reiterated the need to rebuild the domestic economy by "wisely" engaging in interaction with the outside world to boost productivity and exports.
In a meeting with representatives and people of East Azarbaijan Province in Tehran on Wednesday, the Leader said he is not against economic cooperation with other countries, "provided it is pursued wisely and leads to a self-developing economy", IRNA reported.
"The Resistance Economy does not involve fencing off the country," he said, referring to a set of principles outlined by him to bolster production and wean the country off oil revenues.
"The Resistance Economy is self-developing and outward-looking. If the national economy fails to grow internally, it will get nowhere," he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei also said the United States remains the number-one enemy of the Islamic Republic despite the July 14 nuclear deal, citing recent remarks by a US official that he and his fellow opponents of the deal are bent on deterring international businesses from investing in the Iranian market.
The accord with major powers went into effect about a month ago to place temporary curbs on Tehran's nuclear program and, in return, remove economic sanctions, a development that has opened the promising, high potential economy to the world, sparking an influx of foreign investors by raising the prospect of lucrative transactions with Iranian partners.
"The Americans intend to prevent an Iranian economic boom by attracting overseas investment," the Leader cautioned.
He once again warned of US plots to undermine the forthcoming parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, saying, "Frustrated with previous attempts since the outset of the Islamic Republic to prevent the holding of [free] elections in Iran, outsiders have focused on questioning [the soundness of] the votes in recent years."
Ayatollah Khamenei noted that their plot for the Feb. 26 polls involves a smear campaign against the Guardians Council and questioning its decisions.
The council, which vets candidates for any election, faced widespread criticism after it disqualified a large number of reformists, who are allied to moderate President Hassan Rouhani, from running in the elections.
