Iran’s Pezeshkian pledges economic overhaul amid spiralling protests

President Masoud Pezeshkian strikes conciliatory tone in interview broadcast on state TV but accuses US and Israel of fuelling unrest that has killed dozens.Published On 11 Jan 2026President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to overhaul Iran’s struggling economy, saying his government is “ready to listen to its people” after two weeks of increasingly violent nationwide demonstrations.Pezeshkian adopted a conciliatory approach during a televised interview on state television on Sunday, saying his embattled administration was determined to resolve the country’s economic problems while accusing the United States and Israel of fomenting deadly unrest.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran says over 100 officers killed as protesters defy government crackdownlist 2 of 3Street protests grow in Iran as the country faces an internet blackoutlist 3 of 3Chinese, Russian and Iranian warships arrive for drills in South Africaend of listHe said the government’s duty is to solve problems, address people’s concerns, and not allow – what he called – “rioters” to disrupt the country, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.“Therefore, we ask families not to allow their youth to get involved in the unrest of terrorists and rioters,” he was quoted as saying.“The enemy has brought trained terrorists into the country… Rioters are not protesting people. We hear the protesters and have made every effort to solve their problems,” the president also said.He added: “Our goal is to distribute everything we have fairly among the people; regardless of what party, faction, ethnicity, race, or even province, dialect, or language these people belong to.”The crisis erupted after the Iranian currency plummeted in late December after years of economic duress, triggering mass protests over soaring living costs and inflation. Those protests have since taken on a more political and antigovernment nature.The president accused the US and Israel of trying to “sow chaos and disorder” by directing elements of the unrest and called on Iranians to distance themselves from what he described as “rioters and terrorists”.