Economy

Iranwire – A total of 23 protest rallies organized by workers, retirees, and disabled individuals demanding better living conditions were held across Iran on August 28. The Iran Workers Union reported that telecom retirees in 20 cities, including Ahvaz, Rasht, Mashhad, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Shiraz, Shahrekord, Ilam, Sanandaj, Gorgan, Sari, Urmia, Khorramabad, Tabriz, Zanjan, Borujard, Bandar Abbas, Arak, Tehran and Yazd …

Iranwire – In our “Did You Know?” series of articles, IranWire collects, analyses and compares reliable data to produce illuminating infographics on current events in Iran. *** Did you know that there is a significant disparity in the inflation rates between Iran’s 31 provinces?  According to a recent report from the Iranian Statistics Center, the inflation rate in central Yazd …

iranintl – Iran’s economy is facing significant medium-term internal and external risks, the World Bank’s Iran Economic Monitor (IEM) said in its latest report this month. While domestically, “there is a risk of escalating social tensions and strikes in manufacturing,” externally, Iran faces “the possibility of an even weaker global demand for oil, a sharper decline in oil prices, and …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi told a summit of the BRICS group of nations that Tehran is determined to help member states ditch the US dollar in their economic dealings. Raisi was delivering his speech in Johannesburg, South Africa, only a day after BRICS — currently formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China — sent out invitations to Iran, Saudi Arabia, …

Al-Monitor – Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Argentina have all been invited to join the BRICS group of major developing countries, as the bloc seen as an alternative to the Western world order grows its influence.  BRICS currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which is hosting the group’s summit in Johannesburg this week. The …

Al-Arabia – Iran plans to keep raising oil production as back-door diplomatic efforts with the US appear to be easing pressure on the Middle Eastern nation. The Islamic Republic expects to boost production to 3.4 million barrels a day by the end of summer, according to Oil Minister Javad Owji. That would put output near Iran’s capacity limit of 3.8 …

iranintl – The Iranian government has intensified measures to step up control over its foreign currency exchange market, criminalizing a wide range of unofficial transactions. The Central Bank of Iran announced on Tuesday that any unauthorized currency transactions and online advertisement are now considered a “crime.”  The new decree includes any “unauthorized” currency transactions in the virtual space, such as …

iranintl – Islamic Republic’s officials are in damage control mode over the Central Bank of Iran’s decision to dissolve several banks and financial institutions by October. The liquidation of Tosse-eh (Development) Credit Institution is in its final stages while the order to dissolve Ayandeh (Future) Bank was given to the Central Bank earlier this week. There are several other financial institutions, such as Caspian and Nour, that are set to dissolve or merge with …

RFL/RE – Iranian assets that had been frozen in South Korea were transferred to Switzerland’s central bank last week for exchange and transfer to Iran, South Korean media reported on August 21. The Swiss National Bank plans to exchange its $6 billion holdings in won for dollars and then euros in the currency market, Yonhap Infomax reported. Iran and the …

iranintl – Intriguing figures released this week in Iran reveal that over the past decade the government has spent more than $100 billion from the national reserve fund. Local media reported the disclosure by the Iranian parliament’s research center on Friday, illustrating that as stringent international sanctions struck Iran during 2011-2012, the administration of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad initiated withdrawals …