Is ‘national reconciliation’ Iran's key weapon to win economic war?
A top pro-reform official in Iran said national unity and reconciliation are in the making to defuse the US-led economic pressure and media war against the country.
Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said July 25 that his country will soon witness what he called a "great show of internal unity," with national figures coming together to fight off economic pressures.
The moderate politician made the comments in Tehran in an address to the heads of Iranian missions abroad. He did not elaborate on the details of how that could take place but noted, "The best strategy to tackle the impasse that has gripped the country these days is solidarity and national unity." The same call for unity was reflected in a speech by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif last month, when he made it clear to domestic hard-liners that the target of US pressure is not their moderate rivals but rather Iran as a whole.
Jahangiri lamented that negligence when it came to forging unity had emboldened the “enemy” to the point where "it is now launching diatribes against Iran." But according to an editorial in Ghanoon, a Reformist daily, "Given the pressure exerted and the hard times ahead for Iran's economy, some [in Iran] have now come to the conclusion that the approach needs to be mended and another path should be trodden."
Jahangiri said Iran is at a critical juncture but confidently added that the new conditions are not "crippling" and that to face them, Iran needs "creative solutions." The new limitations, from Jahangiri's viewpoint, have led to fresh opportunities as well.
