TEHRAN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that most of the country's economic problems result from officials' mismanagement.
"While foreign sanctions hurt Iran's economy, most of the country's economic problems are the result of internal mismanagement," Khamenei said at his meeting with a group of Iranians in the capital Tehran.
"Economic experts and many officials believe the cause of the issue is not foreign, but internal. Not that sanctions do not have an impact, but the major impact is related to performances," he was quoted as saying by Press TV.
Meanwhile, he blamed the current turmoil in Iran's foreign exchange and gold market on "imprudence and neglect" by certain officials, who caused government's U.S. dollars to end up in the hands of manipulators.
"If the government officials manage the situation and economy in an appropriate way, namely more prudent, timely and stronger, the sanctions will not have much effect," Khamenei noted.
Iran's national currency rial has lost almost half of its value since March 21, beginning of the current Iranian year, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran and announced new sanctions on the Islamic republic.
On Monday, one U.S. dollar was traded for 109,000 rials in Tehran's market, after hitting a record low of more than 120,000 rials in the past week.
A day earlier, the Iranian Judiciary said the authorities had arrested 67 people in a drive against financial crime, Press TV reported.
Khamenei has agreed to a request by the judiciary chief to "swiftly and fairly" handle financial criminals.
