President Calls for Product Identification System to Combat Smuggling and Hoarding

TEHRAN (Iran News) Speaking during a visit to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance on Tuesday, Pezeshkian told the minister and senior officials that product traceability could be piloted at the provincial level before nationwide implementation. “If we can electronically register every product produced or imported, we will prevent many violations. This could transform the economy and save the country,” he said, adding that universities could play a key role in the project.

The president also outlined decentralization as a core strategy for his administration, urging the transfer of more authority to governors and local officials. He noted that local tax collection would likely cause less public dissatisfaction because it could address province-specific conditions.

Pezeshkian stressed the importance of completing projects before launching new ones, criticizing the country’s tendency to start many initiatives without seeing them through: “It’s like digging hundreds of 90-meter wells and never reaching water, instead of digging one well 100 meters deep.”

On social welfare, he said subsidies must be targeted toward vulnerable groups. “Some subsidy allocations were wrong from the start,” he remarked, suggesting the reallocation of funds from unproductive organizations to needy households. He also proposed shorter working hours in some government offices to cut energy use.

The president criticized inefficiencies in state-run institutions, comparing public hospitals unfavorably to profitable private ones. He also warned against unchecked urban expansion in Tehran and other major cities, citing severe water shortages and environmental risks. He urged incentives for industries to relocate toward the south and Persian Gulf regions. “Combat Smuggling”

Addressing customs operations, Pezeshkian called for greater private-sector involvement, closure of unprofitable customs offices, and stronger focus on export markets in Central Asia and Afghanistan.

On economic monopolies, he argued that lifting certain import restrictions would lower prices for essential goods, even when bought at free-market exchange rates. Regarding privatization, he suggested transferring management of industrial units rather than selling them at undervalued prices, predicting that this would improve profitability.

Pezeshkian reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting low-income citizens, encouraging the use of local expertise for economic policy-making. He acknowledged surplus staff in some public offices but proposed redefining their duties rather than dismissals, alongside better cost management to free up resources for the underprivileged.