Expert: First 10 months of current year was ‘inflation peak’ in Iran

An economic expert highlights a significant rise in Iran’s inflation under President Ebrahim Raisi, saying the first 10 months of the current Persian calendar year marked the peak of the country’s inflation in over seven decades.

Citing official statistics, Massoud Nili told Donya-e Eghtesad news outlet that Iran’s 10-month inflation since the start of the year, on March 20, 2022, was “undoubtedly the inflation peak” of the country after 1942 and 1943.

He said during the past 250 months, only 15 months recorded an inflation of over 4 percent, 12 months of which happened from 2018 onward, while another 3 months were registered in the first 10 months of the current Persian year alone.

Last month, Raisi set the tackling of inflation and currency devaluation in sanctions-hit Iran as priorities for the 2023-2024 budget presented to the Parliament.

Iran’s economy has been subject to draconian sanctions imposed by the US and other Western states.

The Raisi administration has placed a ‘look-to-the-East’ policy high on its agenda to offset the bans.

The government has also attributed the new hike in inflation to a wave of protests and riots since the September 16 death in custody of a young Iranian woman.

Mahdi Arman

Mahdi Arman is an Iranian journalist who works as the head of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website's Business Department. He also has a special interest in the latest social and cultural developments in Iran and the world.