Iran’s Raisi Vows to Overcome Challenges, Blames Predecessor for Economic ‘Imbalance’

In this photo released on Monday, March 20, 2023, by the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Ebrahim Raisi gives a televised new year message to the nation at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
In this photo released on Monday, March 20, 2023, by the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Ebrahim Raisi gives a televised new year message to the nation at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
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Iran’s Raisi Vows to Overcome Challenges, Blames Predecessor for Economic ‘Imbalance’

In this photo released on Monday, March 20, 2023, by the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Ebrahim Raisi gives a televised new year message to the nation at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
In this photo released on Monday, March 20, 2023, by the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Ebrahim Raisi gives a televised new year message to the nation at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pledged to fulfill promises made to his citizens and defended his “balanced” foreign policy, blaming the previous government, which was headed by Hassan Rouhani, for economic instability and “challenges” facing the country.

The Iranian government’s website quoted Raisi as saying that the government’s internal policy depended on the country’s energies and a balanced foreign approach.

“We have overcome many challenges despite the enemies’ efforts to fuel discontent in society and conspiracies to separate the regime from the government,” Raisi told a conference of senior officials, as reported by the website.

He indirectly blamed his predecessor for the challenges, which he said were facing Iran, noting his government had inherited them from the previous administration.

Regarding internal politics, the president pledged that his government would not be drawn into “false alignments”, stressing that his team would work with “all revolutionary agencies” to overcome the problems in Iran.

Gatherers at Monday’s conference brought together senior government directors to discuss “curbing inflation and raising production”, which was addressed by Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in a televised speech on the occasion of Nowruz last week.

Raisi stressed that talks about the lack of budget and capabilities were “causing frustration and pessimism in society,” describing them an “unforgivable sin.” He added that an improvement in the living situation was “certain.”

He urged officials to address the “imbalance” in the economy. He added that the ministries of industry, trade, energy, agriculture and economy were tasked with strengthening production growth and curbing inflation in all departments.

He also announced the formation of a special committee that would work on reducing inflation.

A report by the Central Bank of Iran on Sunday stated that the inflation between March 20, 2022 and March 20 this year reached 46.5 percent.



Iran Supreme Leader Warns of 'Geographically Unrestricted Response' to Any Attack

Iranians walk past billboards featuring Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 28 October 2026, amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. (EPA)
Iranians walk past billboards featuring Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 28 October 2026, amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. (EPA)
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Iran Supreme Leader Warns of 'Geographically Unrestricted Response' to Any Attack

Iranians walk past billboards featuring Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 28 October 2026, amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. (EPA)
Iranians walk past billboards featuring Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 28 October 2026, amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. (EPA)

Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday met with top military commanders and ordered them to meet any US or Israeli attack with a "geographically unrestricted response", according to a written statement.

"Any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response," the leader said, according to the statement published on his website.


Iran's Army Warns Any New US Attack Would Spread War Wider

A woman walks through traffic while crossing Enghelab Square in Tehran on October 26, 2026.  (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
A woman walks through traffic while crossing Enghelab Square in Tehran on October 26, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Iran's Army Warns Any New US Attack Would Spread War Wider

A woman walks through traffic while crossing Enghelab Square in Tehran on October 26, 2026.  (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
A woman walks through traffic while crossing Enghelab Square in Tehran on October 26, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran's army warned Saturday that any new US attack would only spread their war wider, following threats by America and Israel of further military action as they hold crucial elections.

The Iranian warning comes with fresh diplomatic efforts underway to avert a resumption of fighting, with Qatari mediators in Tehran and US Vice President JD Vance reportedly sending a letter to Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei, said AFP.

"If the US president once again embarks on more regional adventurism under pressure from, and in an attempt to appease, the Zionists, the flames of war will undoubtedly engulf a much wider geographical area," Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said in a post on X, without elaborating.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned on Saturday that "Iran's Powerful Armed Forces will deal against those who dare harm our people".

On Friday, a Qatari delegation arrived in the Iranian capital for talks with senior Iranian officials.

Qatar and Pakistan have been mediating between the warring parties, but the talks have yet to produce a lasting agreement.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Vance had sent his letter to Iran's security chief at the direction of President Donald Trump in a bid to revive negotiations and avert further US strikes.

Iran has confirmed receiving the letter but has not announced any response.

The US holds midterm elections on Tuesday that could determine the direction of the war, which has proven unpopular with American voters following a spike in energy prices due to the conflict.

Last Tuesday, Israel also held legislative elections, with voters given a chance to offer a verdict on right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Under Netanyahu, who has vowed to topple Iran's government, Israel and Iran have engaged in direct military confrontations after decades of shadow war.

The Middle East war began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed the country's supreme leader Ali Khamenei as well as senior military commanders.

Iran in response targeted US assets across the Middle East as well as Israel.

Most recently hostilities have focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial Gulf shipping route for energy exports that Iran has blockaded since the start of the war.

The US has in retaliation been blockading Iranian ports in an attempt to squeeze the nation's economy.


Flavio Bolsonaro Says He Left Brazil Because He Is the Victim of ‘Persecution’

Flavio Bolsonaro steps off a plane after arriving at Opa Locka Executive Airport in Miami, Florida on October 28, 2026. (AFP)
Flavio Bolsonaro steps off a plane after arriving at Opa Locka Executive Airport in Miami, Florida on October 28, 2026. (AFP)
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Flavio Bolsonaro Says He Left Brazil Because He Is the Victim of ‘Persecution’

Flavio Bolsonaro steps off a plane after arriving at Opa Locka Executive Airport in Miami, Florida on October 28, 2026. (AFP)
Flavio Bolsonaro steps off a plane after arriving at Opa Locka Executive Airport in Miami, Florida on October 28, 2026. (AFP)

Former conservative presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro said Friday that he fled Brazil to the United States because he was a victim of "persecution" in his country.

Bolsonaro, who lost Sunday's election runoff to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, secretly left Brazil on Tuesday and arrived in Florida aboard a private jet on Wednesday after traveling through Argentina and Ecuador.

"The persecution began even sooner than I imagined," the senator said during an Instagram livestream in which he discussed his decision to flee after his Brazilian passports were canceled as part of a money laundering investigation.

In the video, he recounted how police informed him Monday that his passports were being revoked as he left a visit to his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest.

"With tears in his eyes, he told me: 'You know where they're going with this, don't you?'" he said of his father.

"I told him: 'Dad, I know... Now I know what I have to do,'" he recounted.

Although he gave no details of how he left the country, he said he and his wife made the decision "without anyone knowing" and urged people not to "point the finger at anyone."

US President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei are under pressure to explain the involvement of the United States and Argentina in the senator's escape.

"I didn't leave Brazil, I left for Brazil," Flavio Bolsonaro said, alleging that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had made false accusations against him.

He also suggested there had been irregularities in the runoff, comparing them to "handball goals" that were not disallowed by VAR, without detailing what those irregularities might have been.

He also predicted that the economy would "go bust" under Lula and said he was willing to run for president again: "I'm not talking about 2030, I'm talking about before then."