Iran establishes ‘economic war room’ in preparation for US sanctions

Iran has made its intentions to prepare for an economic standoff with the United States known in statements released by the vice president and high-ranking members of parliament this week. Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri told local media that, “Today, we are in special conditions and we are confronting the U.S.” He went on to state that the nation required cautious preparation to counter the United States’ sanctions. He noted that it would be foolish to believe that Iran’s economy would not suffer under the sanctions. He added that, “We will sell as much oil as we can,” despite the U.S.’s move to block the country’s oil exportation.

Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei has decreed that the nation will set up an “economic war room” for handling all of Iran’s future employment, investments, and inflation issues while focusing on improving the nation’s banking. In the magazine Hezbollah Path, parliamentary economic committee leader Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi wrote, “On April 28 in a secret meeting with the heads of executive, judiciary and legislative body, Iran’s Supreme Leader has emphasized on the establishment of an economic war room.” The letter written by Pourebrahimi was published on Saturday. The “war room” will include members of the judiciary, executive, and legislative bodies; it will be headed by President Hassan Rouhani himself.