Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since his appointment in March, called on Iranians on Tuesday to increase the birth rate for the good of the country, writes AFP.
“By earnestly implementing the appropriate and necessary population growth policy, the great Iranian nation will be able to play a major role and make strategic progress in the future,” he said in a letter, excerpts of which were published on the X social media platform.
With his message, the Iranian supreme leader responded to a joint letter from civil society organizations dealing with demography.
“We hope that your devoted efforts (…) will lead to fruitful results, Allah willing,” he added, according to a longer version of his text broadcast by public broadcaster Irib.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who is believed to have been seriously injured in the bombings launched on the first day of the Middle East war that killed his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, has only published written messages after being elected supreme leader.
Iran, which has about 92 million inhabitants, is the 17th most populous country in the world.
But the fertility rate among Iranian women has fallen dramatically in recent decades, from 6.5 in 1979, the year of the Islamic Revolution, to just 1.7 in 2024, according to World Bank data.
In 2020, an Iranian health official said public hospitals and clinics had stopped performing vasectomies or distributing contraceptives to boost population growth.
Despite the damage caused to its territory by the recent US-Israeli attacks, Tehran believes that it has emerged from the war strengthened, notably continuing to control the Strait of Hormuz, strategic for the world's hydrocarbon trade.
In order to take “great steps towards building the new Islamic-Iranian civilization”, Iranians must promote a “culture of procreation”, Mojtaba Khamenei said on Tuesday.
