Aref orders a two-year strategic plan for the government, naming household living costs the first priority

Mohammad Reza Aref, Iran's first vice president, instructed universities, scientific and research centres and executive bodies on Thursday, 30 July 2026 (8 Mordad 1405) to prepare an initial draft of the government's two-year strategic plan within one month, speaking at a consultative session on the plan. The report was carried by the ISNA news agency.

Under the instruction, the plan's stated priorities are preserving social capital, using new opportunities in foreign policy, securing household livelihoods, scientific and technological progress, rebuilding and repairing damaged facilities, resolving structural imbalances, job creation and fiscal discipline in the budget. The initial draft will be finalised after review by the full cabinet.

Aref said the fourteenth government faced wartime conditions from its first day in office and that a plan for running the country under wartime conditions had been prepared from Azar 1403 (November to December 2024). He described the Seventh Progress Plan as a suitable but idealistic programme, saying insufficient attention had been paid to financial resources in drafting it, so its implementation priorities must be set in line with the country's means. The first vice president called household livelihoods the government's most important economic priority, saying people face difficulties caused by high prices, part of which he attributed to structural reforms, higher global prices and regional developments. He also said managerial stability over the next two years is assured and that the government has no plans to replace managers except in specific cases.