International Financial Institution Says Iran’s Economy Will Shrink Further
Forbes magazine, citing the impact of US sanctions against Iran, reports from the think tank of the International Monetary Fund that Iran’s economy is expected to shrink even more.
Garbis Iradian and his team at the think tank of the International Monetary Fund, based in Washington, say that by the end of the current Iranian fiscal year (end of March), Iran’s economy is expected to shrink by 7.2 percent.
According to their report, last year Iran’s economy had also contracted by 4.6 percent.
According to Forbes magazine, the immediate problem stems from US sanctions that have restricted Iran’s oil exports and deprived the Iranian government of a significant portion of its revenues.
President Trump, after withdrawing the United States from the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA, reinstated US sanctions against Iran. Additionally, the Trump administration, in line with its maximum pressure policy, has imposed further sanctions against Iran.
Currently, Iran’s oil industry is completely sanctioned by the United States. Also, sections of Iran’s petrochemical, mining, and construction industries, as well as the buying and selling of certain metals, have been sanctioned.
The United States has also designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on its list of terrorist groups and subsequently has gradually added Iranian government entities in contact with the IRGC to its sanctions list.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on June 21 of last year announced a new US strategy toward Iran, listing 12 conditions set by the United States for an agreement with the Islamic Republic, which are essentially a list of demands from the United States to the Islamic Republic, or in other words, details of the behavioral changes the United States seeks from Iran’s regime.
Some of these conditions include stopping support for terrorism and refraining from destabilizing activities in the region such as support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and interference in the internal affairs of other countries, including Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.
Source: Voice of America
