Iran President Pezeshkian calls for unity as US ramps up economic pressure

Amid rising public discontent, Iranian authorities say adversaries are focused on encouraging domestic unrest.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan September 1, 2026 [Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via Reuters]

Tehran, Iran – President Masoud Pezeshkian has insisted that officials and Iranians will stand united in the face of United States economic pressure, saying national cohesion was enough to “neutralise” any attempts to create discord within the country.

The US announced an “Economic D-Day” against Tehran last month, the toughest sanctions regime in Washington’s history aimed at severing all economic lifelines that “sustain the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)”.

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Pezeshkian said the economic measures will not force his government to make any abrupt policy shifts, which might lead to further unrest in the country.

“Through war, blockade and sanctions, the enemies seek to create division, fissures and unrest inside the country,” the president reportedly told officials on Friday.

Pezeshkian was likely referring to events in 2019 and 2020 , which began with protests against high fuel prices and unravelled into a wider antigovernment uprising.

“People are now on the edge; if I impose another pressure, they may fall off,” Pezeshkian reminded the country during a televised appearance earlier this week.

He did confirm that his administration will still double the price of one of three tiers of petrol quotas offered to private vehicles over the coming weeks and reduce monthly petrol quotas.

Iran still faces critical energy supply shortages due to rampant fuel smuggling, severe damage or neglect of oil and gas infrastructure, and expensive yet low-quality, fuel-hungry vehicles.

But any wider petrol price hike would impact logistics costs and feed rampant inflation, which is affecting all Iranian households, the president has indicated.

Iran’s national currency hit a new all-time low of more than 2.25 million rials per US dollar when Tehran’s market opened for the start of the working week on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the ongoing military confrontation between Iran and the US, which has been a major catalyst for Tehran’s present economic decline, shows no sign of abating.

The US military bombed an oil tanker near Iran’s Kharg Island on Saturday, several days after another round of attacks on southern Iran and shipping in Hormuz.

Washington has prevented Iranian tankers from leaving the country’s southern shores as part of its naval blockade to choke off crude exports.

Iran’s government has said it will return to commitments under a memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Tehran in June but that fell apart shortly after, if the US does the same.

The compounding pressures and rising public discontent have prompted news warnings from Iranian authorities about potential public unrest in recent weeks.

At the end of August, the intelligence directorate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that the US, Israel and their Western allies have shifted towards “pressure from within” to compel protests from Iranians.

Last week, judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei warned that his judges will prosecute those found to be damaging national security “more decisively than all previous eras”, as Iranian enemies seek to stoke unrest, he said.

“The fourth battlefield is the street – the social field,” Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, naming the other three elements as military operations, diplomatic talks, and economic services to the people.

Police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan also identified livelihoods, unemployment, the economy and petrol as possible “pretexts” for localised or nationwide protests. He ordered continuous monitoring and the readiness of forces under his control to prepare for unrest.

The latest message attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in late August also indicated a focus on national unity.

“I declare decisively that anything harmful to social cohesion is prohibited,” the statement read, which has been adorned on posters and banners by his supporters across the country.

Civil authorities have also intensified punishments against people and businesses found to be acting against national security.

On Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Court confirmed that prominent businessman Sadegh Saedinia was sentenced to at least 12.5 years in prison and will have his millions of dollars in assets confiscated by the state for what they said was support for nationwide protests in January.

His brand – which included cafes, food companies and hospitality complexes across the country – had posted two Instagram stories to announce a strike in support of the protesters. Saedinia later released a “confession” to say he regretted the action.

Iranian authorities classify the January nationwide protests as a “coup” orchestrated by the US, Israel and their allies, and carried out by armed agents inside the country.

Some of the dozens who have been executed by judicial authorities since the start of the war with the US on February 28 were said to be involved in these protests.

随着民众不满情绪日益高涨，伊朗当局表示，敌对势力正致力于煽动国内动乱。

2026年9月1日，伊朗总统马苏德·佩泽什基扬在吉尔吉斯斯坦比什凯克出席上海合作组织（上合组织）峰会。[Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via Reuters]

伊朗德黑兰——总统马苏德·佩泽什基安坚称，面对美国的经济压力，伊朗官员和人民将团结一致，并表示国家凝聚力足以“抵消”任何企图在国内制造分裂的行径。

上个月，美国宣布对德黑兰发动“经济D日”行动，这是华盛顿历史上最严厉的制裁制度，旨在切断所有“维持伊朗政权和伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）运转”的经济生命线。

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卡塔尔从惠誉负面观察名单中移除，原因是其液化天然气项目风险有所缓解。

问题 4（共 4 个）：为什么特朗普现在又威胁要打击伊朗的镐山？

佩泽什基扬表示，这些经济措施不会迫使他的政府做出任何突然的政策转变，从而避免该国出现进一步的动荡。

据报道，总统周五告诉官员们：“敌人企图通过战争、封锁和制裁，在国家内部制造分裂、裂痕和动乱。”

佩泽什基安很可能指的是 2019 年和 2020 年发生的事件，这些事件始于对高油价的抗议，并演变成更大规模的反政府起义。

“人们现在正处于崩溃的边缘；如果我再施加压力，他们可能会崩溃，”佩泽什基安在本周早些时候的一次电视讲话中提醒全国人民。

他证实，他的政府将在未来几周内将向私家车提供的三级汽油配额中的一级价格提高一倍，并减少每月汽油配额。

由于燃料走私猖獗、石油和天然气基础设施严重损坏或疏于维护，以及昂贵但质量低劣、耗油量大的车辆，伊朗仍然面临严重的能源供应短缺。

但总统表示，任何更大幅度的汽油价格上涨都会影响物流成本，并加剧通货膨胀，而通货膨胀正在影响所有伊朗家庭。

周六德黑兰股市开市时，伊朗里亚尔兑美元汇率跌至历史新低，超过225万里亚尔兑1美元。

与此同时，伊朗与美国之间持续不断的军事对抗，是导致德黑兰当前经济衰退的主要催化剂，而且这种对抗丝毫没有减弱的迹象。

周六，美国军方轰炸了伊朗哈尔克岛附近的一艘油轮。几天前，伊朗南部和霍尔木兹海峡的航运也遭到了新一轮袭击。

作为海上封锁的一部分，华盛顿阻止伊朗油轮离开该国南部海岸，以切断原油出口。

伊朗政府表示，如果美国也这样做，伊朗将恢复履行华盛顿和德黑兰在6月份签署的谅解备忘录中的承诺，但该备忘录不久后便破裂了。

最近几周，不断累积的压力和日益增长的公众不满促使伊朗当局发出警告，称可能发生公众骚乱。

8 月底，伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）情报局声称，美国、以色列及其西方盟友已转向“从内部施压”，以迫使伊朗人举行抗议活动。

上周，司法部长戈拉姆·侯赛因·莫赫塞尼·埃杰伊警告说，他的法官将“比以往任何时期都更加果断地”起诉那些被发现危害国家安全的人，因为伊朗的敌人正试图煽动动乱。

“第四个战场是街头——社会领域，”议长兼首席谈判代表穆罕默德·巴格尔·加利巴夫说道，他将其他三个要素列为军事行动、外交谈判和为人民提供经济服务。

警察总长艾哈迈德-雷扎·拉丹还指出，民生、失业、经济和汽油问题都可能成为局部或全国性抗议活动的“借口”。他下令持续监控，并确保其控制下的部队做好应对动乱的准备。

伊朗最高领袖穆杰塔巴·哈梅内伊在8月下旬发表的最新讲话也表明，伊朗将重点放在民族团结上。

“我在此郑重声明，任何有损社会凝聚力的行为都是被禁止的。”声明中写道，他的支持者们已将这句话印在全国各地的海报和横幅上。

民事当局也加大了对危害国家安全的个人和企业的惩罚力度。

周四，伊朗最高法院确认，著名商人萨德格·赛迪尼亚被判处至少 12.5 年监禁，其数百万美元的资产将被国家没收，原因是他支持了 1 月份在全国范围内举行的抗议活动。

他的品牌——旗下拥有遍布全国的咖啡馆、食品公司和酒店综合体——曾发布两条Instagram动态，宣布罢工以声援抗议者。赛迪尼亚后来发表“声明”，表示后悔自己的行为。

伊朗当局将1月份席卷全国的抗议活动定性为美国、以色列及其盟友策划、由伊朗境内武装人员实施的“政变”。

自 2 月 28 日美中战争爆发以来，数十名被司法当局处决的人中，据说有些人参与了这些抗议活动。