Economy

VOA – Iran, largely shunned by western tourists, is making a push to attract visitors from wealthy Gulf Arab states and other nearby countries to boost its sanctions-hit economy. The Islamic republic is also drawing more visitors from Russia and China to its ancient sites that date back to the Persian empire and the fabled Silk Road, industry figures say. …

rferl.org – A former official from Iran’s Ministry of Social Welfare has issued a stark warning about a looming “humanitarian catastrophe” after fresh data showed more than half of all Iranians are suffering from malnutrition. Hadi Mousavi Nik, the former director-general of the Social Welfare Studies Department at the ministry, said that 57 percent of Iran’s population is malnourished and …

iranintl – An Iranian lawmaker insisted on Saturday that the annual inflation rate in Iran is 120 percent, not 60 or 70 percent as various politicians and academics cite. Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh told Rouydad24 website in Tehran that lower inflation figures close to 40 percent presented by some officials who claim they have controlled rising prices is the product of …

Iranwire – Iran gained full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as the Eurasian security and political grouping led by China and Russia seeks to expand its reach and counter Western influence in the region. “The member states stressed the historical significance of the admission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the SCO as a full Member State,” …

Al-Arabia – India on Tuesday hosts the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, with Iran expected to join the Asian grouping and Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing his first summit since a short-lived mutiny, officials said. Chinese state media reported President Xi Jinping will also attend the virtual summit of the eight-member SCO — headquartered in Beijing but hosted by India which holds the …

alarabiya – For the first time, the European signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the UK, France, and Germany are preparing to breach the accord, by refusing to lift sanctions on Tehran’s missile usage in October as initially specified in the agreement, the Guardian reported on Sunday. While Former President Donald Trump took the US out of the nuclear …

Iranwire – Mandatory hijab laws cost Iranians up to 45 trillion tomans ($900 million) per year, according to new research by Iran Open Data.  In a recent article, the collaborative initiative explained that these expenses is borne by Iranians in two ways. – The indirect costs: Iran Open Data estimates that the current government budget allocates around 9 trillion tomans …

Al-Monitor — Iran and Uzbekistan issued a joint statement citing 10 agreements to strengthen their bilateral economic cooperation, as Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyov sat down with his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, on Sunday.   According to the government-run IRNA news agency, the agreements cover a wide range of areas such as energy, transit, technology, agriculture, the pharmaceutical industry and insurance.  The two …

Iranwire – Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk has said that a free trade zone deal between Iran, Russia and four former Soviet republics is possible by the end of the year. Overchuk told the state TASS agency on June 19 that talks between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, which groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, are in …

Al-Monitor – Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Fatih claims he is “optimistic” about the economic potential of the detente announced March 10 between Saudi Arabia and Iran, brokered by China. In an interview with CNBC earlier this week, the minister said he was “very hopeful” that Saudi Arabia’s normalization with Iran will go beyond the two countries and address the concerns the international …