 His remarks have drawn criticism and been called ill-judged at a time when Iran was struggling with surging inflation and rising unemployment, estimated at around 11%.Ahmadinejad's call was reminiscent of a call for Iranians to have more children made by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979.The policy had increased Iran's population by 16 million in seven years but had eventually been reversed in response to the resultant economic strain.