Iran’s Pezeshkian pledges economic overhaul amid spiralling protests

President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to overhaul Iran’s struggling economy, saying his government is “ready to listen to its people” after two weeks of increasingly violent nationwide demonstrations.

Pezeshkian adopted a conciliatory approach during an interview on state television on Sunday, saying his embattled administration was determined to resolve the country’s economic problems while accusing the United States and Israel of fomenting deadly unrest.

He said the government’s duty is to solve problems, address people’s concerns, and not allow what he called “rioters” to disrupt the country, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

“Therefore, we ask families not to allow their youth to get involved in the unrest of terrorists and rioters,” he was quoted as saying.

“The enemy has brought trained terrorists into the country … Rioters are not protesting people. We hear the protesters and have made every effort to solve their problems,” the president also said.

He added: “Our goal is to distribute everything we have fairly among the people; regardless of what party, faction, ethnicity, race, or even province, dialect, or language these people belong to.”

The crisis erupted after the Iranian currency plummeted in late December after years of economic duress, triggering mass protests over soaring living costs and inflation. Those protests have since taken on a more political and anti-government nature.

The president accused the US and Israel of trying to “sow chaos and disorder” by directing elements of the unrest, and he called on Iranians to distance themselves from what he described as “rioters and terrorists”.

The demonstrations are the largest in Iran since a 2022-2023 protest movement spurred by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.

“People have concerns. We should sit with them, and if it is our duty, we should resolve their concerns,” Pezeshkian said. “But the higher duty is not to allow a group of rioters to come and destroy the entire society.”

Tohid Asadi, media’s correspondent in Tehran, said Iranian officials had spent the past week trying to draw a distinction between protesters and what they described as foreign-trained rioters.

Asadi added that senior officials had acknowledged public anger as justified, citing “soaring prices, high inflation and the drastic devaluation of the local currency that right now puts a huge amount of pressure on the pockets of local people”.

State media reported that 109 security personnel have been killed during the protests.

Opposition activists say the death toll is higher and it includes dozens of protesters.

media cannot independently verify either figure.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reinforced a distinction between peaceful and armed demonstrators during remarks to lawmakers on Sunday, saying Iran recognised “people’s peaceful protests over economic concerns” but would stand against “terrorists”.

A former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, Ghalibaf also issued a stark warning to Washington after US President Donald Trump threatened military action if Iranian authorities kill demonstrators.

“In the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories [Israel] as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” he said as some lawmakers reportedly chanted anti-American slogans.

Trump had declared on social media that the US stood “ready to help” Iran, suggesting possible strikes but ruling out ground troops. His comments represented a significant escalation as Tehran faces its most serious domestic challenge in years.

The Ministry of Interior claimed the unrest is subsiding as Iran’s attorney general warned participants they could face capital punishment. A nationwide internet blackout has persisted for more than 60 hours, according to monitoring groups.