Raisi says economy, COVID-19 response ‘does not befit’ Iran

Iran’s parliament has cleared almost all the president’s Cabinet choices, enabling him to start working in earnest, following a June election victory. (AFP)

• Mideast’s worst-hit country grappling with fifth wave of infections as daily deaths hit record highs

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday vowed to improve the country’s sanction-hit economy and its COVID-19 response, saying that the current situation “does not befit” the Islamic republic.
He delivered the remarks while chairing the first meeting of his Cabinet which was approved by parliament on Wednesday.
Lawmakers approved one-by-one 18 out of 19 candidates put forward by the ultra-conservative Raisi for the ministerial posts.
They rejected only his pick for the education portfolio, thus requiring the president to make another choice for that post.
The new president was sworn in by parliament in early August, but the outgoing administration remained at the helm until Wednesday’s parliamentary vote.
The confidence vote in the strictly conservative lineup — all men — allows Raisi to begin leaving his mark.
“The country’s situation today does not befit the great nation of Iran and it must certainly change,” Raisi said in a speech broadcast live on television.
The Islamic republic is “seriously lagging behind” in certain areas, Raisi said, adding that his government’s priorities would be to curb a surge in coronavirus infections as well as to control inflation and “improve people’s livelihoods.”
In Iran where ultimate power rests with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi inherits a difficult socioeconomic situation.
The ultraconservative won a June 18 election marred by record low turnout and an absence of significant competitors.
Iran has been strangled financially by sanctions reimposed by Washington after then US President Donald Trump pulled out of a multilateral nuclear deal in 2018.
Its already severe economic crisis has been amplified by the pandemic.
Iran is the country in the Middle East worst hit by the virus and is currently grappling with a fifth wave of infections — the strongest yet — with daily deaths and cases hitting record highs several times this month.
The country recorded its highest single day death toll on Tuesday, with 709 fatalities registered by the Health Ministry in 24 hours.
Fewer than 6.5 million of Iran’s 83 million people have received a second vaccine dose, according to official figures.
Choked by US sanctions that have made it difficult to transfer money abroad, Iran says it has struggled to import vaccines.
Raisi vowed to increase vaccine imports and boost local production without offering details, saying efforts so far have been “necessary but not enough.”
Authorities have approved the emergency use of two domestically developed vaccines, but the only mass-produced one, COVIran Barekat, is in short supply.
Western powers, Russia and China are all keeping a watchful eye for any sign of willingness by Iran to resume discussions that began in Vienna in April aimed at salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal.
The parties agreed in late June to meet for a new round of talks, but discussions have yet to resume.
In the aftermath of his election victory, Raisi declared on June 20 that he will not permit negotiations just for “negotiation’s sake.”
But he also said: “Any negotiations that guarantee national interests will certainly be supported.”
New Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made no reference to the 2015 deal Wednesday, listing other matters as the top concern in messages posted after taking office.
“Neighbors & Asia #1 priority,” he wrote on Twitter.
So far Raisi has named four vice presidents. Among them is Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezai, a former Revolutionary Guards chief and among the losers in the presidential poll, named vice president in charge of economic affairs.