Iranian Majlis speaker uneasy over rising prices, unemployment

QOM, Feb. 21 (MNA) – Ali Larijani, the Majlis speaker, said in country as rich as Iran there should not be such high unemployment and inflation. “In a country that there are rich underground resources like oil and gas there should not be problems such as (high) unemployment,” Larijani told a gathering in Qom late on Monday. He added citizens are suffering from high inflation rate which necessitates a solution by all responsible officials. “Today price hikes and inflation in the country are squeezing the people,” he said, adding officials are duty bound to control rising inflation and focus on the development of the country. The Majlis speaker went on to say that development entails progress in all areas. “If proper steps are taken in all areas, the threats which enemies have resorted to today will become ineffective,” he noted. Elsewhere in his remarks, Larijani said today the enemies acknowledge that Iran is the intellectual leader of revolutions in the region and this is an “honor” to the Iranian nation who rose against the dictatorial system more than three decades ago, a reference to the 1979 Islamic Revolution which toppled the Pahlavi regime. He also called threats against Iran “political waffling”, saying, “All threats will be neutralized through a comprehensive development of the country.”