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Iran’s president has begun implementing emergency measures to shore up supplies of essential goods and keep government running in case of new attacks on the country by the US or Israel.
In a meeting on Tuesday with governors of border provinces, Masoud Pezeshkian issued orders designed to “eliminate redundant bureaucracy and accelerate the import of basic commodities”, according to state media.
“We are handing over authorities to provinces so that governors can contact the judiciary and officials in other organisations and make decisions themselves,” Pezeshkian said at the meeting.
The move, which came as fears grow of another conflict with the US or Israel, appeared designed to delegate powers to provinces if senior figures were assassinated.
Israel killed dozens of senior military commanders in a devastating opening salvo when it launched its 12-day war against Iran in June, an operation that Tehran admitted left officials stunned.
The US has in recent weeks indicated it is considering striking Iran again, with speculation that it could target senior political and military figures such as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to attack during deadly mass protests this month, and the US president said last week that he had sent an “armada” of naval forces towards Iran “just in case” military action became necessary.
US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said on Monday the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier had been deployed to the region.
Following the war in June, which the US briefly joined to bomb Iran’s nuclear site, Pezeshkian’s government announced it would hand over authority to all 31 provinces in order to allow the government to continue functioning.
Under the measures announced on Tuesday, governors are permitted to pursue “imports without foreign currency” through mechanisms such as barter with neighbouring countries bypassing previous bureaucratic procedures, domestic media reported.
“This decision will neutralise a considerable amount of pressure resulting from unjust sanctions imposed to harm people’s livelihoods,” Pezeshkian said.
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani acknowledged the tensions on Tuesday, saying there was a “heavy shadow of war hanging over the country, which has severely complicated” existing problems.
While stressing that Iran was “fully prepared” to defend itself against foreign aggression, Mohajerani said the government was still “trying to find a solution through diplomacy”.
Ali Gholhaki, a hardline journalist with close ties to security institutions, told the reformist outlet Ensafnews that Iran and the US were engaged in “direct or indirect” talks in a “third country”, though he doubted diplomacy could avert what he described as a “highly likely” war.
Iran’s senior political and military figures have warned that they would respond to any US attack and could also target Israel. They have said that any attempt on Khamenei’s life would be regarded as an act of all-out war.
Iran is still struggling with the aftermath of the protests, in which thousands of people were killed in the most violent episode since the 1979 revolution.
An internet blackout imposed on January 8 at the height of the unrest has largely remained in place. While some limited access has resumed through VPNs, connectivity is still unreliable.
The central bank has also sought to reassure the public over the state of the economy and currency, which lost around 40 per cent of its value following the June war — a factor in initially triggering protests in major business centres late last month.
The governor, Abdolnasser Hemmati, said on Tuesday approximately $2.25bn had been traded in recent weeks, which he claimed indicated the market was returning to normal.
Mohajerani, the government spokesperson, called for “national solidarity” in the face of the threats.
“We are hearing war drums beaten by hostile media [overseas] seeking to create fear and disruption in people’s lives,” she told local reporters. “We knew from the beginning that we are facing a multi-layered hybrid war.”