Ever since Iran has expanded its nuclear program, the violent suppression of protests after the death of activist and Iran’s sale of drones to Russia, ties between Iran and West have deteriorated further.
Author
Tridivesh Singh Maini, Assistant Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
In recent days all eyes have been on the Russia-Ukraine war, the rising tensions between US and China as well as continuing strains between the West and Russia — as was evident at the G20 foreign ministers meeting held in Delhi. As a result of differences between both sides, the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting was unable to even issue a joint communique.
Amidst all these important developments of the past few days, the worrisome state of the Iranian economy has been relegated to the side lines. Apart from rising inflation (estimated at over 50% for the month ending February 2023), the currency has faced a continuous downfall. Last month, the Rial surpassed the 500,000 mark per U.S. dollar. This depreciation of the currency took place despite certain measures announced by the government to check the fall of the currency which has been taking place since September 2022.
If one were to look at the key factors for Iran’s current economic situation they are; the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) 2015/Iran Nuclear deal, which resulted in imposition of economic sanctions on Iran, and then the covid19 pandemic. In 2022, the revival of the JCPOA seemed a distinct probability — especially in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war – in order to keep global oil prices in check. Here it would be important to point out that in spite of sanctions, Iran’s oil exports have risen over the past few months and it has been argued by many that the US has turned a blind eye to the same.
US sanctions against Iran
Ever since Iran has expanded its nuclear program, the violent suppression of protests after the death of activist and Iran’s sale of drones to Russia ties between Iran and West have deteriorated further. The US has imposed a series of sanctions against senior Iranian officials, including those belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for the violent crackdown against protests which broke out after the death of activist Mahsa Amini in moral police custody in September 2022.
Published in: The Geopolitics
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