Iran 'to eradicate unemployment within 3 years'

"Iran is a rich country and if justice is established not even a single person will be unemployed or poor," Ahmadinejad said in his address to people in the southwestern province of Khuzestan on Wednesday.

"I have also assured the parliament members that if the plan is implemented by a smooth mechanism, Iran will not have even a single jobless or poor within three years," Mehr news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Iran's Guardian Council has approved the legislation aimed at gradually cutting the government's subsidies on energy and food items.

The body's spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said on Wednesday that the bill complies with Islamic laws and the Iranian Constitution.

Iran's Parliament (Majlis) ratified the bill proposed by the government after making some amendments to it.

The 'Economic Reform Plan' will allow the government to establish an organization to enforce the plan.

/Press TV/