Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the government of economic mismanagement and said it needed to improve its performance to help the country better weather newly reimposed U.S. sanctions.
"More than the sanctions, economic mismanagement (by the government) is putting pressure on ordinary Iranians ... I do not call it betrayal but a huge mistake in management,” quoted Khamenei as saying.
The Supreme Leader stressed that with better management and planning Iran can resist the sanctions and overcome them, Iranian state TV reported.
The fall of the rial and the increase in gold coin prices are major economic problems... The corrupt people (officials) should be punished firmly," Reuters cited Khamenei as saying.
The U.S. reimposed strict sanctions against Iran last Tuesday and President Donald Trump has threatened to penalize firms from other countries that continue to operate in the Islamic Republic.
