TEHRAN, Iran, May. 19
Trend:
Iran is able to pay salaries and subsidies, and even complete the semi-finished development projects, despite the budget deficit, said the head of Iran Planning and Budget Organization (PBO) Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, Trend reports.
Nobakht made the remark on his Instagram channel.
"The sanctions and the global recession caused by COVID-19 outbreak have severely affected the revenue sources of the budget,” Nobakht said.
He went on to say that appropriate planning has been done and the focus has been on reducing consumption and relying on saving the resources.
Oil revenue makes up about 10 percent of Iran’s budget. However, the budget for this fiscal year was set based on selling a million barrels of oil a day at about $50 per barrel.
The combination of sanctions, shrinking demand for oil due to the coronavirus outbreak and falling oil prices affected Iran’s budget planning.
Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.
The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.