Baku, Azerbaijan, July 18
Trend:
The Iranian president’s Chief of Staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, confirmed that there would be some changes in the country’s cabinet posts in the near future.
President Hassan Rouhani is considering some changes in his cabinet, given the fact that the country is facing new conditions, following the US withdrawal from nuclear deal and re-imposition of sanctions, Vaezi said, the state-run IRINN TV reported July 18.
Vaezi added that Rouhani will make changes in his economic team as well.
US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached in 2015 between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus Germany.
The first part of the US sanctions targeting Iran's automotive sector, trade in gold, and other key metals will be re-imposed on August 6.
The reports about cabinet reshuffle came after a special meeting was held by the administration’s officials last month to control the fall of the national currency.
The Iranian rial plunged to a record low against the US dollar on the unofficial market in July as the dollar surged to almost 90,000 rials.
The collapse of the national currency has provoked a public outcry over the quick rise of prices of imported consumer goods.
On April 9, Iran unified the country’s official and open market exchange rates after its currency, the rial, plunged to an all-time low on concerns over a return of crippling sanctions.
The US dollar jumped in a day from 54,700 rials to 60,000 rials in the open market in Tehran at the time. A dollar was worth 36,000 rials in mid-September.