Rouhani promises to handle fresh US sanctions

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has promised his countrymen to handle the economic pressure of new US sanctions.

The president came up the statement on Tuesday amid reports of a second day of demonstrations in protest at financial hardship and a weakening rial, reports Reuters.

Defending his economic record, Rouhani said the government’s income had not been affected in recent months, and the fall in the rial was the result of “foreign media propaganda”.

“Even in the worst case, I promise that the basic needs of Iranians will be provided. We have enough sugar, wheat, and cooking oil. We have enough foreign currency to inject into the market,” Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

Washington is to start imposing economic penalties again on Tehran in coming months after US President Donald Trump quit an agreement between major world powers and Iran in which sanctions were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

This may cut Iran’s hard currency earnings from oil exports, and the prospect is triggering a panicked flight of Iranians’ savings from the rial into dollars.

The International Monetary Fund estimated in March that the government held $112 billion of foreign assets and reserves, and that Iran was running a current account surplus.

These figures suggested Iran might withstand the sanctions without an external payments crisis.

Fars news agency reported that parts of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar were on strike for the second day running, after traders massed outside parliament on Monday to complain about a sharp fall in the value of the national currency.

Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the report about the partial strike at the bazaar.

But video footage posted on social media showed protesters setting fire to garbage dumpsters in Tehran streets to block riot police from attacking them.