Rouhani warns Iranians to brace for harder times ahead

President Hassan Rouhani has warned Iranians they may face hard times when new US sanctions take effect on Sunday.

Washington reimposed some sanctions in May after pulling out of a 2015 agreement intended to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme. Officials have said they aim to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero.

Mr Rouhani yesterday called the move “a new injustice” that the government did not fear, the state news agency reported yesterday.

“In the past few months our people have faced difficult times and it’s possible that the next few months will be difficult,” he said. “But the government will use all its power to reduce these problems.”

The cost of living has soared in recent months, leading to demonstrations against profiteering and corruption in which protesters have chanted anti-government slogans.

The rial has sunk against the US dollar because of the sanctions threat, with a heavy demand for dollars from Iranians trying to protect their savings.

Iran began selling crude oil to private companies for export on Sunday as part of a strategy to beat the planned sanctions.

“You will not be able to reach any of your goals with regard to Iran’s oil,” Mr Rouhani said. “You will not be able to bring it to zero or reduce it.”

Meanwhile, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said yesterday that 280,000 barrels had been sold on Iran’s energy bourse and another 720,000 barrels would follow.

European powers will introduce a “special purpose vehicle” under consideration to enable trade with Iran next week, Mahmoud Vaezi of the presidency office yesterday told the Islamic Republic News Agency.

European diplomats have described the proposal as a bid to create a barter system to exchange Iranian oil for European goods without money changing hands.