Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said Iran’s future depends not only on resisting US pressure but also on addressing serious domestic failures, warning that the country could otherwise “erode from within.”
Zakani, a prominent conservative figure, said there were three competing approaches inside Iran: making concessions to reach an understanding with Washington, resisting without adequately addressing the requirements of that resistance, or combining resistance with domestic reform.
“Resistance does not mean that we should ignore internal problems,” he said, according to IRGC-affiliated Tasnim. “Alongside standing against the enemy, we must reform the country from within and move toward building strength.”
Zakani said leaving domestic problems unresolved could cause Iran to fall behind in intense global competition “even without enemy intervention” and eventually “erode from within.”
He acknowledged problems across Iran’s economy, politics, society and culture, specifically citing inflation, the decline in the value of the national currency and sharp exchange-rate fluctuations.
Zakani also argued that wartime conditions could provide an opportunity for major economic changes, including reducing dependence on oil revenues and expanding what he described as a more “people-based” economy.
On foreign policy, he said Tehran should not organize its entire external strategy around its relationship with Washington.