Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani announced yesterday what he called a “budget of resistance” to counter crippling US sanctions, weeks after a fuel price hike sparked nationwide protests that turned deadly.

Rouhani said the aim was to reduce “hardships” as the Islamic republic has suffered a sharp economic downturn, with a plummeting currency sending inflation skyrocketing and hiking import prices. The US sanctions imposed in May last year in a bitter dispute centred on Iran’s nuclear programme include an embargo on the crucial oil sector whose sales Washington aims to reduce to zero in a campaign of “maximum pressure”.

Rouhani told parliament that the budget, which includes a 15 percent public sector wage hike, “is a budget of resistance and perseverance against sanctions”.

It would “announce to the world that despite sanctions we will manage the country, especially in terms of oil,” he added.

Rouhani said the 4,845 trillion rial ($36 billion at the current street rate) budget was devised to help Iran’s people overcome difficulty. It would benefit from a $5 billion “investment” from Russia which was still being finalised, he said, without giving further details.