Speaking to Iranian state television late Friday, Pezeshkian addressed claims that sanctions have no effect, saying, “Some say sanctions have no effect at all; to those people, I really don’t know what to say."
He added, “We are in a war situation, and we must accept these wartime conditions."
Pezeshkian said Iran's imports and exports have declined by between 25% and 35% in recent months as the United States maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports. He also called for an increase in the price of petrol to reflect the decline in trade.
“We should raise the price of the third-tier quota... For example, from 5,000 tomans to 10,000 tomans," he said. The third-tier quota is one of several fuel consumption rates used to determine the price paid by Iranian consumers.
Iran is a major oil producer and has among the world's lowest petrol prices due to extensive government subsidies. Any increase in fuel prices is therefore politically sensitive.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said Wednesday that the US blockade had prevented Tehran from importing sufficient petrol to compensate for a shortfall in domestic production. That same day, however, Pezeshkian had insisted that the latest US sanctions “will not achieve anything."
“We will stand firm against economic pressures, as we have done so far and will continue to do," he told Iranian state media at the time.
Pezeshkian's latest remarks came four days after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans for what he called the “economic asphyxiation" of Iran under "Operation Economic Outcast." Bessent warned that countries refusing to join the US campaign could face consequences.
Iranian officials have rejected the US pressure campaign. Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said Tehran was prepared to withstand the sanctions and predicted Washington would suffer “another defeat". He also said the Iranian government had developed a two-year strategy to manage the economic pressure.
“They have done everything they could to test the determination of the Iranian people and the country's officials, but they have failed every time. It seems they wished to suffer yet another defeat," Madanizadeh told Iranian state television.
“We've been waiting for these plans for a long time, and the government is and was ready and has a two-year plan to manage these events," he added.
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