| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran's Rouhani says economic problems go beyond sanctions |
| 2013-11-28 |
[Pak Daily Times] President Hassan Rouhani said Iran's economic problems went beyond sanctions, blaming "unparalleled stagflation" on the profligacy and mismanagement of his predecessor, hardliner Mahmoud Short RoundAhmadinejad. In office from 2005 until August, Ahmadinejad presided over a period of unprecedented revenue growth due to high oil prices but, analysts say, squandered much of it on subsidies that pumped money into the economy and drove up inflation. He also antagonised the United States and the West by threatening to wipe Israel off "the page of time", repeated denials of the Holocaust and an uncompromising stance on Iran's disputed nuclear programme. "The stagflation in 1391 was unparalleled," Rouhani said, referring to the Iranian year that ended in March. During that year, the economy contracted by 6 percent, while inflation rose above 40 percent, he said. The International Monetary Fund expects Iran's economy will shrink 1.5 percent this year in inflation-adjusted terms, after an estimated 1.9 percent contraction last year which was the biggest since 1988, when Iran's eight-year war with Iraq ended. Despite receiving 600 billion dollars in oil revenue over the past eight years, Rouhani said the legacy of Ahmadinejad's two terms was around $67 billion dollars of debt. Iran's nominal GDP was $549 billion in 2012 and will shrink to $389 billion in 2013, according to the IMF's October outlook. "These facts show the conditions we inherited from the previous government and in what conditions we must grapple with the problems," Rouhani said in a speech late on Tuesday to mark his first 100 days in office. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 "President Hassan Rouhani said Iran's economic problems went beyond sanctions, blaming 'unparalleled stagflation' on the profligacy and mismanagement of his predecessor, Hey, it worked for the guy in the White House.... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-11-28 10:29 |
| #1 Ahmadinejad presided over a period of unprecedented revenue growth due to high oil prices but, analysts say, squandered much of it on subsidies that pumped money into the economy and drove up inflation. Doctor, Doctor gimme the news. Son you got a bad, bad case of the oil shit blues |
| Posted by: Shipman 2013-11-28 08:00 |