Iran budget under pressure

10/09/12: Reuter reports Iran's state budget is under pressure and the government has cut spending in some areas, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying as the country struggles to cope with Western economic sanctions. "Right now in terms of the budget we are under pressure," Ahmadinejad said in a speech on Tuesday, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency. "In many places the budget has become zero or has been cut by 25 percent," he said without elaborating. Ahmadinejad did not mention reasons for the pressure but his remarks appeared an indirect acknowledgement that the sanctions, imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear program, are having a major impact on state revenues.