Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran's new elected president Hassan Rohani has said meeting urgent economic needs of the country, including the supply of staple foods, will be the top priority of his administration.

At his first news conference after being elected, Rohani emphasized the need for taking advantage of all the existing opportunities, Azerbaijan's Trend news agency reported.

Regarding foreign policy, Rohani said that his administration will provide opportunities for interaction with other countries based on respecting mutual interests.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Iran's economy decreased by 1.9 percent in 2012. The value of the country's currency, the rial, also fell by 40 percent in 2012. According to the Central Bank of Iran, the country's inflation was over 30 percent in the previous year.

Earlier, Mehr news agency quoted Rohani's economic advisor Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht as saying that Rohani will revise the system for cash subsidies.

According to official statistics, more than 3.5 million people are unemployed in the country, some of them with zero income. Unfortunately, they receive as much in cash subsidies as high-income families.

The administration of Rohani will make every effort to reduce the effects of economic sanctions, Nobakht said.

The subsidy reform plan pays out 455,000 rials (about $37) to Iranians while eliminating subsidies for fuel and some commodities.

Rohani has said helping resolve all outstanding economic problems was his motive for entering the presidential race.

He argued that instead of adopting extremist approaches on domestic and foreign issues, the next administration needs to forge some kind of alliance with all branches of the government as well as the elite.

Rohani also invited all the other presidential candidates to help him form a better government.

He further said that the country's atmosphere has been changed by the people.

He also promised to follow the demands of the people in terms of improving the situation of opposition leaders.

Meanwhile, Iranian lawmakers said they are ready to fully cooperate with Rohani to help carry out his plans.

In a Monday statement signed by 225 parliament members, the MPs thanked the Iranian nation for their huge turnout in the election and congratulated them on Rohani's win.

The statement says that a new chapter has opened to build a country based on rationality, knowledge and while using the potential of all moderate political elements, and the MPs declare their readiness to cooperate with the president-elect in line with the promises he made while on the campaign trail.

Rohani won just over 50 percent of the votes in the June 14 presidential election, allowing him to avoid a run-off. More than 72 percent of the country's 50 million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots.

Rohani, 64, served in parliament from 1980 until 2000, when he became a member of the Assembly of Experts, the body that oversees the work of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He also held Iran's top security post as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2005.