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Iran's President Puts New Focus on the Economy
[NY Times] Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, vowed Saturday to work with the outside world to lift the "oppressive sanctions" crippling the Iranian economy, as he received the official backing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a ceremony marking the start of his presidential term.In an acknowledgment of the growing toll that international economic restrictions connected to Iran's nuclear program are having on the population, both Mr. Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei made the economy a major theme of their remarks. "People called for change and improvement in their living standards, they want to live better," Mr. Rouhani said. But he and the ayatollah offered somewhat different solutions. Whereas Mr. Rouhani said that interactions with the world, meaning talks with Europe and potentially the United States, were a way out of the crisis, Ayatollah Khamenei, who as supreme leader has final word on all important issues, expressed pessimism that such overtures would yield fruit. "Some of our enemies do not speak with our language of wisdom," he said, urging self-sufficiency. As Mr. Rouhani takes his public oath of office on Sunday, Iran's growing economic crisis sits atop his agenda. Sanctions have slashed oil exports and limited Iran's ability to transfer money from abroad. The shortage has been aggravated by the profligate spending that is a legacy of the departing government of Mahmoud Short RoundAhmadinejad. During most of Mr. Ahmadinejad's two terms, Iran enjoyed an oil windfall, with a flow of dollars and euros that fueled huge imports on goods ranging from ice cream to Porsches. But now Mr. Rouhani's aides describe Iran's economic situation as the worst in decades. Many blame what they call Mr. Ahmadinejad's erratic economic policies, punctuated by slashed subsidies and unbridled inflation. Posted by: Fred 2013-08-04 |
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