According to president.ir, Pezeshkian made the remarks Sunday during a Cabinet meeting, where he also referred to the appointment of the new head of the Energy Optimization and Strategic Management Organization. He said addressing the country’s energy imbalances has been one of the administration’s most critical and urgent challenges since day one.

He added that dozens of experts and groups were invited to present ideas and solutions, but the analyses and expertise of Esmaeil Seqab-Esfahani and his team were the most comprehensive and effective. Pezeshkian said Seqab-Esfahani was therefore selected to lead the organization and help ensure that programs and policies are implemented correctly across government agencies.

Priority on Safe, EV Production

Another part of the meeting focused on a report from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade regarding the automotive sector and plans for fleet renewal and the scrapping of aging vehicles.

Emphasizing the need for low-consumption replacement vehicles, the president instructed the industry minister to clearly inform automakers that, without engine improvements and fuel-efficiency upgrades within a year, they will receive no foreign currency allocations and will be barred from production. He reiterated that companies may obtain advanced global technologies and that the government will support them, noting again that safe and electric vehicle production is the priority.

Later in the session, Pezeshkian stressed the need for actionable measures across government agencies to reduce energy consumption and improve energy management. He ordered ministers to urgently prepare and submit plans for installing solar panels in their ministries and affiliated organizations.

In addition, Cabinet members approved raising the cap on bank loans for natural gas connections in homes with installed service risers, increasing the limit from 150 million rials to 300 million rials.