Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 4 / Trend , T.Konyayeva/
Given the current poor situation in the Iranian economy and holding non-constructive foreign and domestic policy, the recent statement by the Iranian Vice-President, Mohammed Reza Rahimi is nothing more than bravado, experts believe.
"The current administration in Iran has been living with so much fantasy that I cannot avoid saying that this is an unpopular government, clearly the most unpopular administration since the time of the Shah," Professor of the Michigan University, Robert Canfield, wrote to Trend in an email. "They seem in many ways to be grasping at every straw that might give them something positive to say about themselves."
Last week Rahimi said that international sanctions have given impetus to the development of Iran, noting that after the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979), Tehran, has repeatedly been subjected to sanctions, and 80 percent of the country's achievements is due to internal potential. During a speech at the power engineering exhibition in Tehran, the vice-president said that over the past four years the country has recorded a 30 percent jump in electricity production.
Canfield believes the economy is in very bad shape and it is one of the reasons why the administration is so unpopular and the abusive policies of this administration have simply made them all the more unpopular.
"Without really knowing much about how creative their economy has been, I read the remarks of Vice President Rahimi to be further attempts to put the best face on a dangerous situation," Canfield said.
Rahimi's statement simply does not make sense, as no country ever benefits from being under sanctions, Iranian Expert Kamran Dadkhah believes.
"How could a country with less trade and investment be better off than when it was not under such restrictions?," Professor at U.S. Northeastern University, Dadkhah wrote to Trend in an email. "To spend the oil revenue (that is earned by selling national wealth) to buy outdated missiles from North Korea and then modify them cannot be called innovation or development."
He beieves what sanctions have done is to open the possibility of profiteering for commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp and those in power.
"Rahimi's statement shows that the Iranian government does not care for the suffering of the people, has not learned from its past mistakes, and it is bent on preserving the privileges of those in power," Dadkhah said.
Since 1980, after breaking the diplomatic relations between the two countries, the U.S. always imposes economic sanctions on Iran, including the embargo. In recent years, Washington, accusing Tehran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, has continuously strengthened sanctions on the Iranian government departments, army, banks and even individuals.
The UN Security Council thrice adopted resolutions to impose sanctions on Iran, calling on Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment activities. Iran also has consistently denied charges of secretly developing nuclear weapons.
The main reason for this sorry situation in the Iranian economy is the wrongheaded policies of the Islamic Republic, Dadkhah said.
"The mistakes started from day one [...]" the expert said. "The greatest mistake has been Iran's confrontation with the United States that started with the hostage taking in the US embassy. That act was the greatest treason against the Iranian people."
He also added that the confrontation also brought sanctions that have aggravated the situation and crippled the Iranian economy.
"Currently Iran is suffering from double digit inflation and unemployment rates, its industries are losing to low cost imported Chinese products, and its oil output is expected to decline in the coming years due to the lack of investment," Dadkhah said.
A key economic problem of Iran is today the inflation rate, which - the highest in the country for the current decade, which led to a significant drop in the value of Iranian rial in the past few years. Inflation rate in Iran in July amounted to 21.5 percent, and the dynamics of growth of prices on the domestic market is the highest in the Caspian region.
"How can one speak about development when Iran with slightly more than $5,000 per capita income in current prices ranks among poorer nations. Although Iran has had the advantages of vast oil and gas reserves, abundant other natural resources, a strategic position in the Persian Gulf, and a large number of highly educated professionals," Dadkhah said.
Iran is the second largest oil exporter among the OPEC countries. According to BP, as for Jan. 1, 2009 the proven reserves of oil in Iran amounted to 137.6 billion barrels. Oil production in the country in 2008 exceeded 215 million tons with domestic consumption of more than 86 million tons.