Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, used his most important speech of the year to criticize President Hassan Rouhani and his administration’s economic performance. With presidential elections two months away, Khamenei's criticism opens the door for other conservatives to attack the president on a vulnerability.

The supreme leader's Nowruz (Iranian New Year) speech is similar to the State of the Union Address in the United States and delivered at the shrine of the 8th Shiite imam in the city of Mashhad, the most important site in the country for Iranian Shiites. In his speech on March 21, Khamenei discussed not only the previous year, but also laid out the most pressing issues for the upcoming year. Khamenei also proclaimed that this year, 1396, would be the “Year of Resistance Economy: Production and Employment.” The president is largely responsible for managing the economy, so it is up to the president and his administration to ensure that Khamenei's economic objectives for the year are met. 

Half of Khamenei’s Nowruz speech consisted of statements about his concerns and commentary regarding the state of Iran’s economy. Although he acknowledged that there were positive signs, such as economic growth and decreasing inflation, Khamenei also asserted that there are still “many problems,” such as increasing unemployment and low investment, referring to both of them as fundamental problems. He also critiqued the level of the country’s exports, asking the administration to increase it.

Khamenei’s sharpest remarks are perhaps those delivered in a video message posted March 20 in which he says, “I am aware of the people’s situation; therefore, I can sense the bitterness of the people, especially the lower classes, from economic problems such as inflation, unemployment, discrimination, equality and social harms.” His acknowledgment made headlines on a number of conservative websites.