Iran's top leader urges gov't to follow "resistance economy" policies

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday urged the government to seriously pursue and implement the general policies of "resistance economy."

The headquarters of the "resistance economy" should be established and "under the command of the administration and the first vice president, and should attract cooperation and help of all other institutions (of the country) while closely monitoring the performance of different sectors," Khamenei said according to the official website of the supreme leader.

He called on President Hassan Rouhani and his government to pay close attention to the domestic potentials and support "abundant domestic capabilities and capacities, saying that "I will seriously support any action by the administration, the Majlis (parliament) and the Judiciary that would be in the interest of people and aimed at removing obstacles and resolving issues and solving people's problems."

Khamenei downplayed some calls in the country for improving the ties with the United States, saying that "the United States is a symbol of dishonesty and we cannot trust the Americans and some other western countries."

"Therefore, we have to rely on our own capabilities," he was quoted as saying.

Earlier, the top Iranian leader said people's economic concerns would be partially alleviated if the policies of the resistance economy were implemented seriously.

He asked the parliament to identify and scrap any laws that run counter to those policies.

In 2014, Khamenei outlined general policies of a "resistance economy" plan which calls on the government to promote knowledge-based high-tech industries, boost domestic production and reduce dependence on imports. It also calls for privatization, further exports of goods and services as well as foreign investments.

Resistance economy is part of Iran's policy to fight international and western pressures against the country over a number of issues. Endit