Raisi’s proposed economic policy plan for Iran doesn’t make sense
IranSource
by
Ebad Ebadi
A supporter of Ebrahim Raisi displays his portrait during a celebratory rally for his presidential election victory in Tehran, Iran June 19, 2021. Via Reuters.
The June 18 Iranian election, in which Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi was selected as president, had the lowest turnout since the 1979 revolution. The biggest challenge Raisi will face in his first term is the growing economic problems of the country.
After the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, the Iranian economy has deteriorated over the past three years. GDP growth rate dropped by 6 percent in 2018 and 6.8 percent in 2019, while the inflation rate increased to 34.6 percent and 36.5 percent in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Much of the GDP decrease was associated with the huge drop in oil exports: $62.7 billion in 2018 to $29 billion in 2020. In 2020, amidst the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing US sanctions, the economy struggled with a high inflation rate of 36.5 percent, though the GDP started to recover and grew 1.5 percent after two years. However, the ongoing political and economic challenges leave the newly elected president with difficulties in the economy and labor market, not to mention the mismanagement and corruption.