Tehran, Iran, April 17
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad – Trend:
A senior official at Daliran Pars Investment Company has described the Iranian government’s recent move on unifying official and free-market exchange rates as “the best decision”.
“If the US slaps back sanctions on Iran, the costs of money transaction for the Islamic Republic will grow. The surge in the costs of money transaction would create hurdles for us,” Ali Kaviani told Trend.
Saying that Iran failed to benefit from the 2015 nuclear deal, he added that most of Iranian banks already face difficulties regarding the issue of money transactions.
He added that the May 12 deadline, on which US President Donald Trump must sign a presidential waiver on sanctions on the Islamic Republic, as well as the Financial Action Task (FATF) announcement on Iran would leave a key impact on the country’s trade ties.
The government, in order to confront the weakening national currency, announced its plan to unify official and free-market exchange rates for the rial in favor of a single rate at 42,000 against the US dollar.
Central Bank of Iran has also imposed a ban on the sale of foreign currencies at exchange shops, under which the exchangers no longer have the right to buy, sell, or transfer foreign currencies.
Back in March, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Tehran as part of a European drive to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran that President Donald Trump is threatening to scuttle. On May 12, Donald Trump is expected to decide whether to continue waiving sanctions under a US law.
So far, Iran has adhered to the terms of the nuclear deal, as verified by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in 10 reports since the pact was implemented in January 2016.
But the economic benefits Iran is receiving in return have fallen short of expectations, even after energy and financial sanctions were lifted. Major banks and companies have avoided engaging with Iran from fear of running afoul of remaining US restrictions or seeing a “snapback” of sanctions given Trump’s threats.
In February, FATF extended the suspension of blacklisting Iran for another 4 months. The group which serves as one of the monitoring bodies, inspecting Iran's financial tasks after the nuclear deal was signed, has reportedly said since Iran has submitted the draft of the legislation aimed at fighting against money laundering to the parliament, it would be waiting for the consequences, while every measure on the Iranian side will be closely watched and controlled.
The FATF has examined Iran's performance in the field and expressed its satisfaction with the Islamic Republic's measures.