Iran’s Pezeshkian pledges economic overhaul amid spiralling protests

President strikes conciliatory tone but accuses US and Israel of fuelling unrest that has killed dozens.

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 a televised 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.

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 antigovernment nature.

The president accused the US and Israel of trying to “sow chaos and disorder” by directing elements of the unrest and 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, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.