Posts tagged : "Economy"

Persepolis Kourosh Ziabari - Stimson Center: Modern-day Iran is the inheritor of a hallowed civilization and ancient monuments that have survived millennia of invasions, natural disasters, and political upheaval. While Iran’s current diplomatic and economic isolation discourages foreign tourism, the country’s cultural heritage remains one of the nation’s key distinctions, cherished by Iranians and many others around the world who hope to be able to explore it in person one day. There are presently 26 registered UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Iran, more than in Japan, the United States and Greece on the roster of places catalogued by the United Nations’ cultural and educational agency. Among them are well-known...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: Iran’s talented, educated youth have consistently cultivated the nation’s public image as one characterized by vibrancy and motivation to push the boundaries. Whether mathematicians, computer scientists, anthropologists or artists, Iranians have carved out a universal reputation as hard-working and creative, even though the lion’s share of this brilliance is bearing fruit overseas, not at home. Over time, the country’s name has become a shorthand for its deep-seated brain drain, sapping the Islamic Republic’s strength to address challenges and deliver for its people. The authorities routinely complain about this human capital flight coming at the expense of the nation’s progress, and...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: One year since conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi rose to the presidency, his campaign promises to shield the Iranian economy from sanctions and lift it to new heights have gone wholly unfulfilled. As street protests against the dire state of the economy spread across the country, political stability is being put to a potential make-or-break test for the politically inexperienced leader. Iranian purchasing power has recently hit record lows amid runaway inflation, stagnant wages and a collapsing currency, galvanizing more and more Iranians to take to the streets to protest against their economic plight and the government’s perceived mismanagement. Despite the protests mushrooming across the country,...

Kourosh Ziabari - Al-Monitor: As the administration of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi faces discontent over increasingly difficult economic  conditions, the government is ratcheting up agitprop around compulsory hijab, the Islamic dress code, in what many Iranians say is a bid to divert public attention from the nation’s day-to-day hardships. The government's efforts to enforce hijab rules are divisive in Iranian society with its outward-looking young population and liberal-minded middle class. On July 12, as the government hyped “chastity and hijab week,” thousands of Iranian women pushed the envelope of their traditional social roles and recorded themselves walking around the streets of Tehran and other cities...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: In June, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Iran for a two-day visit, marking the first time in five years the leader alighted in the equally isolated Islamic Republic. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who has crafted his foreign policy around anti-US motifs, is investing in elevating relations with Venezuela as Iran misses out on boosting relations with traditional Asian allies and lacks a roadmap for renewing ties with the West. During the visit, Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year cooperation agreement, the details of which have not been made public. But for the two countries whose economies have been crushed under years of biting US sanctions, there is potent symbolism in giving...

Kourosh Ziabari - The New Arab: The Paris climate agreement, despite all sorts of criticism it receives for its loopholes and flaws, is an unmistakable manifestation of collective determination on behalf of the world nations. It is a solid step towards addressing a crisis that is not only harming people around the world and jeopardising the inhabitability of the planet, but also creating a grim future for the posterity. With its legally-binding provisions and quantifiable targets for how anthropogenic emissions should be phased out, the Paris Agreement is a call for global awakening on what the United Nations has termed the most immediate threat to human rights. Out of the 193 United Nations member states, only four nations have...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: Nationwide protests over the Iranian government’s decision to cut subsidies on food and basic staples and the ensuing hyperinflation have diminished, but a kerfuffle involving the Islamic Republic and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has heightened tensions globally, driving the US dollar to historic highs in the Tehran market, and rendering the prospects of the revival of the nuclear deal dimmer than ever. The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution on June 8 rebuking Iran for its limited cooperation with the IAEA and the traces of uranium at three nuclear sites about which it has provided insufficient explanations to the world body. Of the IAEA member...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: Iran is set to relax a ban on importing cars, reversing an unpopular policy in force since 2018 that has left Iranians stuck on the road with poor-quality, locally-made automobiles. The move aims at stimulating more market competition in the large domestic auto industry as complaints grow that cosseted local producers have resorted to the worst of monopolistic behaviors. Iran’s auto industry accounts for a large percentage of the nation’s non-oil exports and employs nearly 800,000 workers. The two major car manufacturers, Iran Khodro and Saipa, are both state-owned, while a smattering of smaller firms is privately run. The country’s automotive sector is the biggest in the Middle East...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: Russia’s blitzkrieg on Ukraine and endgame talks to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Iran nuclear pact have become increasingly interlocked in an emerging new geopolitical order. But hopes that a new nuclear deal will allow Iran to quickly replace Russian energy supplies to the West are likely premature for a multitude of reasons. In remarks last weekend, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asked the US for written guarantees that the JCPOA’s revival be made contingent on Russia being allowed to maintain trade and economic ties with Iran exempt from US sanctions over its Ukraine invasion. Many analysts interpreted the request, made after months of negotiations and with...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: While many international airlines start to recover after two years of Covid-induced groundings and stagnation, Iran’s beleaguered fliers are still mostly grounded. Even before the pandemic, Iran’s airlines were bypassed by professional travelers and a flight of last resort for routes that reputable world carriers didn’t serve. In 2021, the airline safety and product rating review website AirlineRatings.com identified Iran Aseman Airlines as one of the world’s six most unsafe airlines. The UK-based consultancy Skytrax had earlier named Iran Air and Mahan Air as two of the 20 worst airlines globally, measured by the quality of their services and number of accidents. When the vaunted Joint...

Kourosh Ziabari - Asia Times: While Iran finds itself throttled by US economic and banking sanctions that are still a far cry from being repealed, a new layer of complexity has been added to the country’s economic misfortunes – the government has put a wholesale ban on imports of home appliances from South Korea, and is gearing up to apply bans on other foreign products. On September 29, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei instructed President Ebrahim Raisi to ban the importation of home appliances, specifically from “two South Korean firms” which he didn’t name, reportedly to stave off the insolvency of domestic manufacturers. He noted in his brief memo that the domestic firms had only just begun to stand on their...

Asia Times - Kourosh Ziabari: As the Raisi administration continues to refuse to chart a clear path for the resumption of the stalled nuclear talks with world powers in Vienna, and the removal of the daunting sanctions on Iran remain improbable, things are getting worse for the average Iranian. The naked truth about the oil-rich country is the unchecked entrenchment of poverty has been worsened by the government’s soaring budget deficit and the withdrawal of foreign investors who once helped prop up different sectors of the economy. In 2019, and in a bid to incentivize the influx of foreign capital and resources into Iran, the moderate Rouhani administration proposed an initiative whereby international investors lending credit...