Tehran (AFP) March 20, 2016 – Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Washington of failing to respect the terms of a nuclear deal that lifts sanctions on Tehran, in a speech Sunday marking Persian New Year.
“The Americans have not respected their commitments,” he said in the speech for Nowruz in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
The United States has lifted sanctions “on paper” under Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers that came into effect in January, “but they are using roundabout paths to prevent the Islamic republic from achieving its targets”, Khamenei said.
“They have said they lifted the sanctions… but, in fact, they are working to prevent the lifting of sanctions from taking effect,” he said.
But Khamenei said the Western allies of Washington remained “afraid” of dealings with Iran.
“Today, in all the Western countries which are under their influence, banking transactions come up against problems,” he said.
“When we investigated, we realised that they are afraid of the Americans.”
The economy exited a deep recession little more than a year ago.
But although international oil sales have resumed and exports risen since January, the price of crude means receipts have been low and growth remains weak.
“The solution is the economy of resistance,” Khamenei said.
“With the economy of resistance, we can fight unemployment and recession, control inflation and confront the threats of enemies.”
Unemployment in Iran stands at a little over 10 percent but youth unemployment is around 25 percent, making job creation vital.