Iran's reformist presidential hopeful Mir-Hossein Mousavi has issued a statement describing his comprehensive economic plan, local English daily Tehran Times reported on Sunday.

The plan of Mousavi, who served as Iran's prime minister from 1981 to 1989, addresses major issues such as inflation, poverty, housing, unemployment, conservation, exports and privatization, the report said.

As Iran is suffering from soaring inflation and high unemployment, incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's track record in the economic field has been a frequent target of criticism.

"The first principle and the key to resolving Iran's economic woes is reforming the executive branch (the Ahmadinejad administration) and redefining the administration," Mousavi's statement said.

Evasion of the law, insufficient transparency, excessive centralization, disorder in financial affairs, and incompetence are some of the most important shortcomings of the current administration, it noted.

"Iran's economy is reliant on oil and a lack of transparency in this area is even more harmful than in other sectors," the statement said. "Oil contracts are not sent to the Majlis and lawmakers are unaware of the country's oil contracts."

Transparency in oil contracts will facilitate the attraction of domestic and foreign investment and can prevent the waste of enormous resources in the oil sector, the statement said.

Speaking at a press conference for Iranian media on Saturday, Ahmadinejad dismissed criticism on his economic policy, saying Iran 's current economic situation was "proper" and that the country's economy was moving forward.

"I believe that we have been able to have our best economic management despite severe economic crises and four sanctions resolutions," Ahmadinejad said.

"Our economic bases are such that we can be hopeful of prosperity of our economy," he added.

The two reformist candidates -- Mousavi and former Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi -- and former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezaei, a moderate conservative, are vying with the incumbent hardliner president for the next presidency.

The tenth presidential election in Iran is slated for June 12.

Source:Xinhua