Dec 3, 2019

In a series of remarks rarely heard from Iran's political elites, First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri lamented Washington's onerous sanctions and how they are tightening the noose around Iran's economy. "The Americans have in the true sense blocked the key bottlenecks of our country's economy," Jahangiri told an exports conference in Tehran Dec. 2.

"Even allies fear buying Iranian oil" due to US pressure, he said, which has forced Iran to get its crude shipped out through unconventional ways. The Reformist politician, however, took pride in the fact that despite all the roads closed off, Iran has managed "to stand on its own feet."

After withdrawing last May from the multilateral Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the administration of US President Donald Trump has been squeezing the Iranian economy through an unabated "maximum pressure" campaign, which seeks to shut off Iranian oil exports and push Tehran into renegotiating the "bad" deal.

Unsurprisingly, Jahangiri's comments did not go unanswered by political rivals at home. Hard-liners took aim at the vice president for projecting a "bleak" image from Iran and giving Washington the green light to press ahead with further sanctions.

As Jahangiri was painting a picture of "the worst conditions" Iranians have been facing since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, other authorities were busy exhausting diplomatic channels to ease the economic and political pressure. Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi was in Tehran discussing with several Iranian officials "regional stability," including the Hormuz Peace Initiative, a plan unveiled by President Hassan Rouhani during his address to the UN General Assembly in September.