TEHRAN - Ebrahim Raeisi, the Judiciary chief, said on Sunday that all officials are duty bound to support businessmen and entrepreneurs.

During a meeting with a number of businessmen, he said that under the current situation in which the United States has waged an economic war on Iran, all officials and state bodies are duty bound to fully support businessmen and entrepreneurs.

He noted that it is essential to counter enemies’ plots through taking moves in line with boosting production and creating jobs.

The Judiciary will take steps in line with of boosting production sector and fighting corruption, Raeisi promised.

The Supreme Council of Economic Coordination convened on Saturday during which a plan to facilitate production process and removing obstacles to it were approved.

The session, headed by President Hassan Rouhani, brought together Raisi, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri and some economic officials.

It was also decided to facilitate repayment of debts by production enterprises in order to prevent their closure.

In May 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled Washington out of the JCPOA (the official for the international nuclear deal) and ordered reimposition of sanctions against Iran. The first round of sanctions went into force on August 6 and the second round, which targets Iran’s oil exports and banks, were snapped back on November 4.

John Bolton, the national security advisor to Trump, said in November 2018, “We think the (Iranian) government is under real pressure and it’s our intention to squeeze them very hard. As the British say, squeeze them until the pips squeak.”

Rouhani has repeatedly called for unity to counter the economic war.

During a meeting with political activists on May 11, he described the enemies’ economic and political pressure against Iran as an “all-out war” which is unprecedented in the history of the Islamic Revolution.

“Today, it cannot be said that the situation is better or worse than the ‘imposed war’, but during the war we did not have problems in areas of banking relations, oil sale or importation and exportation; the only sanction on us was in purchasing weapon,” he stated.

The imposed war refers to Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran in the 1980s.
 
NA/PA