Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, who is also head of Iran’s Plan and Budget Organization, said on Tuesday that the national budget for the “current costs” in the next Iranian calendar year has been set without reliance on the share of oil incomes.
He said oil revenues would be spent only on construction projects, noting that other income resources, such as tax revenues, are planned to make up for the cut in the share of petrodollars.
Back in June, Nobakht said a major scheme to lower the share of oil incomes in the budget had four main axes and 23 plans that will result in sustainable incomes for the administration, savings in costs, economic stability, and a stronger budget.
In comments in December 2018, Iranian First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said it was unlikely that the oil revenues’ share in the budget for the next Iranian fiscal year would be more than 25 percent.
Iran’s efforts to cut reliance on the oil incomes began long before the US administration announced plans in 2018 to drive the Islamic Republic’s oil exports down to zero.
Tensions between Iran and the US have escalated since US President Donald Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The White House has announced plans to get as many countries as possible down to zero Iranian oil imports and launch a campaign of “maximum economic and diplomatic pressure” on Iran.
