With the US seeking to reimpose its pre-2015 sanctions on Iran, the country is set to face yet another economic challenge. It’s in this background that the Iranian government has declared that the nation hasn’t suffered much from the pandemic induced financial crisis.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday said that Iran’s economy has contracted by only three percent despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Tasnim news agency reported.
Rouhani made the remarks during a video conference held to brief Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about the cabinet’s performance during the last seven years, Xinhua news agency reported.
“While the economy of many of the world’s major countries shrank by 20 percent, Iran’s economy suffered only three percent in the face of problems caused by the coronavirus outbreak,” he said.
Although the fall in oil prices and the US sanctions have damaged Iran’s economy, the reliance of Iran’s budget on oil exports has decreased in the past years to 9.9 percent in 2019, according to Rouhani.
The Iranian president also cited the reduction of inflation to single-digit figures as another achievement of his administration.
According to the Iranian Statistics Center, the annual inflation rate for Iranian households was 8.25 percent in August.
Since mid-2018, after the United States left the landmark 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, Tehran has experienced maximum pressure on its economy from Washington’s unilateral sanctions.
Rouhani said in June that his administration’s main priority is to control prices and guarantee access to basic means of life.
Also Read: US sanctions: Iran to respond ‘proportionately’
Also Read: US’ sanction snapback unlawful: Iran
Read More: Iran Sanctions: Key allies desert US
