Experts: Capital depreciation has destroyed Iran's economy

While recent reports from the Iranian market indicate an increase in inflation and high prices in all economic fields, and this pressure has become a burden on the middle and poor classes, the Islamic Republic's officials continue to attribute the increase in inflation, high prices, and shortages to international sanctions and restrictions.

In recent years, Iran's economy has faced a prolonged recession in the productive sectors and high inflation in the services and goods sectors, along with the decline in activity during the coronavirus pandemic and the conditions resulting from international sanctions.

Meanwhile, economic experts say: Revival of the JCPOA will not have any positive effect on improving Iran's economic situation, just as the JCPOA agreement during the Obama administration did not improve the economy and the lives of the Iranian people.

Economic expert Jamshid Asadi told Voice of America that the structure and roots of the economy in the Islamic Republic are broken, saying: "In the past years, not only has no new investment been made in Iran, but previous capital and investments have also gradually disappeared."

He stated that in the past few years, Iranians have not been very willing to invest in the country, adding: "Even if the JCPOA is revived, foreign investors are not willing to return to Iran and accept the risk of investing in the country unless the government guarantees their capital with oil."

Last March, the head of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce told a delegation of Chamber of Commerce representatives: "If the JCPOA agreement is finalized and sanctions and restrictions are lifted, the approach to managing Iran's economy must change towards a development economy. Otherwise, as in the first round of the JCPOA agreement, injecting money into the country will only boost imports, not develop sustainable investment."

According to Gholamhossein Shafei, over the past few decades, especially the last 10 years, the Iranian economy has faced very high inflation, economic stagnation, very low and poor job creation, and the spread of poverty and inequality. Economic policymakers have usually postponed the root cause of the problems by adopting palliative policies.

Source: Voice of America