On Monday, Fatemeh Mohajerani marked Women’s Day by visiting the National Iranian Copper Industries Engineering and Development Company, where she met with women working in the industry. 

During the meeting, she addressed challenges facing the industrial sector and the impact of previous policies on the current situation.

"We have witnessed unfavorable developments in the industrial sector. No one defends cutting electricity, gas, or water to industries. It’s undeniable that such disruptions harm the sector," she said. 

Mohajerani stressed that the industrial sector represents the innovative mind and financial strength of society but is now grappling with imbalances caused by misguided policies.

"These imbalances did not emerge overnight but are the result of decades of poor planning and neglect of the future," she added. 

Referring to the overconsumption of water and energy resources, she remarked, "We assumed underground water reserves would last forever and used these resources unsustainably for agriculture and industry. The imbalances we see today in electricity and gas stem from these past policy failures." 

The official also criticized the mismanagement of energy resources, saying, "In a country with abundant oil and gas reserves, winter gas outages in homes are a source of embarrassment. The public is not to blame for this. “

She went on to say that “Their consumption habits are shaped by our policies. Had energy pricing been designed to encourage the use of efficient appliances from the start, we would not be facing these challenges today."