West could not ruin Iran’s economy
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran has weathered the worst of the West's economic pressure, and the enemies’ plots to ruin the Iranian banking and economic system have proven futile.
Speaking on channel one of the IRIB television network live on Saturday evening, he stated that the adversaries are preparing to take new anti-Iran measures, but Iran has grown stronger and prepared some contingency plans to counter the West’s pressure.
He noted “We can pass through this stage and prevent the Western states from using economic development plans as a pressure lever against our nation.”
Ahmadinejad said the implementation of the subsidy reform plan has helped Iran’s production sector, and the Islamic Republic registered economic growth of 5.2 percent in the last Iranian calendar year (ended March 19), which was among the highest in the world.
He noted that Iran earned $43 billion from non-oil exports, excluding the revenue from natural gas condensates, and this shows the subsidy reform plan has been a success.
The subsidy reform plan, which began in late 2010, has enabled the Iranian government to begin to gradually reduce energy subsidies over the course of five years, with low-income families compensated with direct cash handouts.
Ahmadinejad stated that Iran’s inflation rate now stands at 26.1 percent.
He added the inflation rate rose to 20.9 percent by the end of 2011, which showed an 8.1-percent increase compared to the preceding year.
Source: irib.ir
