DM Monitoring
TEHRAN: Iran’s economy would unlikely be restored to a robust level if major U.S. sanctions on the country remain, recent researches and opinions indicated.
Over the past years, Iran’s economy has tumbled down into a recession under a number of circumstances, including the three-year sanctions by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018.
Joe Biden’s victory in the U.S. presidential elections last year raised hopes for the revival of the JCPOA and potential removal of anti-Iran sanctions. However, after six rounds of talks between Iran and P4+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, with the United States indirectly involved — in the Austrian capital of Vienna since April, the prospect remains uncertain as both sides demand more. Under current circumstances, what is grimly at stake is the Iranian economy, whose recovery is much linked with the U.S. sanctions, according to recent studies. Although some Iranian politicians and critics have argued that sanctions are not a serious obstacle to Iran’s economy and its industrial recovery, two official studies in the country have proven otherwise.
According to a study released by the Islamic Parliament Research Center of Iran on April 13, under U.S. sanctions, Iran’s international banking transactions have been restricted and Iranian businessmen have encountered hurdles in their banking affairs with their foreign partners.
Also, the Iranian government has faced serious problems in dealing with the money it has earned from oil, gas and other service exports, the study noted.
Iran has been deprived of benefiting from credit lines and foreign investments, and international companies have withdrawn from the Iranian market and ceased cooperation with Iranian partners due to the U.S. embargo against the country’s economy, the study indicated.
Meanwhile, it revealed that if the ongoing negotiations over the revival of the JCPOA end in the lifting of U.S. sanctions, the restrictions on Iran’s exports of oil and petroleum products and the bans on its purchase of aircraft would be eased in the country’s interest.
Meanwhile, another recent report, released by the Research Center of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce on Iran’s economic risk and its 10-year forecasts, said: “Iran’s economy has weakened due to declining oil exports and investment following the imposition of secondary U.S. sanctions.”
