TEHRAN (Iran News)  Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Abdolnaser Hemmati says his country has prepared various scenarios to overcome future challenges.

Hemmati made the remarks during an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Sharq News Network late on Sunday.

While referring to the imposition of illegal sanctions and the so-called maximum pressure campaign during the previous term of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Iranian economy minister said that it was a bit natural the Islamic Republic implemented various methods to neutralize Washington’s cruel measures.

He emphasized that both positive economic growth and ever-growing cooperation with various countries in the region and the world have been the outcome of Iran’s measures.

So far in the current Iranian calendar year, which will end on March 20, “we have had an 18-percent growth in non-oil trade, and oil exports are also on a good trend”, Hemmati said, adding that Iran has been able to leave the main stage of pressure behind and will make more efforts in this regard in the future.

“In terms of exports, we have had the experience of 2018-2020, the period when Trump was in power, and our oil exports decreased sharply, and of course, the Corona factor [Covid-19 pandemic] was added to it, and Corona too increased the pressure on our economy,” the minister acknowledged, saying that these pressures somewhat affected people’s lives.

Hemmati however looked optimistic when he said that the Islamic Republic also came up with the necessary planning to mitigate the effect of the sanctions. “We have prepared various scenarios so that we can implement our own economic agenda, and we are prepared for any situation.”

He also touched on the resilience of emerging economies in the face of pressures and shocks, and said: “All countries today resort to a type of cooperation and coordination against unilateral U.S. pressure, and alliances such as BRICS and D8 are what we are trying to expand.”

Hemmati expressed readiness for closer cooperation with neighboring countries, saying that regional stability lies in good economic relations with each other.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) Tehran – ISNA – Hemmati met and held talks with Cong Peiwu at the Ministry of Economy in Tehran on Monday.

In this meeting, Hemmati followed up on the negotiations that took place during the BRICS Economic Ministers’ Meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, stressing the importance of implementing the MoUs between the two countries.

He also considered the holding of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation between the two countries as a suitable platform for negotiations on economic, trade, and investment cooperation, and welcomed the holding of the 19th Joint Economic Commission in Tehran.

Cong Peiwu, for his part, stated that Beijing aims to expedite the implementation of the MoUs and enhance practical cooperation to deepen relations between the two countries.

Both sides also highlighted the commitment of their statesmen to comprehensive development, expressing hope that consultations between senior officials of Iran and China will continue to expand bilateral relations.

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Hemmati, appointed central bank governor in 2018, is one of seven candidates for president, with the others after a vetting body, the Guardian Council, announced the vetted candidates.

Some media identified several possible candidates to succeed Hemmati at the bank, including Akbar Komeijani, a deputy governor of the bank, and Hamid Pourmohammadi, deputy head of the Budget and Planning Organization. The bank could not immediately be reached for comment.

But some media outlets claimed Pourmohammadi is to take helm of the CBI.

Some reports claimed that Komeijani, attended a meeting of the Rouhani administration’s economic coordination committee yesterday instead of the Central Bank Governor.

Later in the day, the news of his removal from office was confirmed by an informed source speaking to Mehr News Agency.

Komeijani was later named as the new Governor of the Central Bank, replacing Hemmati who is one of the seven candidates approved by the Guardian Council to run for president.

In a Saturday night discussion on the Clubhouse social media app, Hemmati said Rouhani had told him that he would have to stand down at the bank if he stands for president, “because it affects monetary and exchange rate policies”.

“I told him that I had no problem with his decision,” he said.

Abdol-Nasser Hemmati, the governor of Iran’s Central Bank and a candidate in the 2021 presidential election, says he should not be lumped together with those responsible for the economic status quo.

Writing on his Instagram page, Hemmati said he had been trying to change the economic situation of the country since two and a half years ago.

“Some individuals who themselves are responsible for the status quo say Hemmati’s performance is partially [to blame for] the current situation,” he said. “I have for the past two and a half years been partially responsible for changing the status quo not bringing it about.”

He implied that his monetary policies had saved the Iranian economy.

“If the past monetary and foreign exchange policies had been continued, there would have remained nothing to compete over,” he said, apparently referring to the presidential race.

The Rouhani administration has been the focus of much criticism for high inflation and rampant poverty in the country.

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Addressing a G24 meeting on Monday, Hemmati said: “Demands are expected to be met without discrimination and not under the influence of political lobbies.”

He stressed the need for unbiased support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and called for inclusive cooperation to transfer the technology of producing drugs for the COVID-19 and the distribution of the drug.

“Presently, what is very vital and important is global cooperation and the transfer of technical knowledge in the production and possibility of equitable production and distribution of vaccines at reasonable prices,” he said.

Hemmati further said that there were morally no limitations to export COVID vaccines and the relevant medical equipment.

“IMF and WB have a key role to play in supporting member countries to mitigate the health and economic effects of the pandemic and the various stages of recovery,” he noted.

Hemmati that the IMF was expected to fulfill the members’ legal demands, away from any political lobbies and pressures.

He underscored that the IMF must have sufficient resources to meet the large financial needs of its members in the event of a crisis.

The G24 meeting was chaired by Hemmati in the presence of the heads of the IMF and the WB, and the heads of the member central banks.

Examining the global economy, contributing to the economic recovery of developing countries after the Coronavirus Pandemic, and promoting cooperation between members were the main topics of the meeting.

How to support international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and multilateral development banks from developing countries and increase low-interest loans to these countries and delay previous loans were also among the most important topics discussed at the meeting.

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Stating that freezing our assets in South Korea is Iran’s main challenge with this country, he said, “We had assets in other countries, and we used and had access to them despite US sanctions. But we have not yet been able to access our assets in South Korea, which has been one of Iran’s main trading partners.”

He pointed to his visit to South Korea, saying, “A year and a half ago, I had talks with South Korean officials, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, about this issue, and they promised to help and cooperate, but unfortunately, it has not worked out yet.”

Hemmati highlighted, “There were even correspondences with Korean officials that, despite promises, were fruitless and we could not even use our assets to buy goods and medicine.”

“$7billion has been frozen in South Korean banks for more than two years,” he said expressing hope that this issue, which is an obstacle to Iran-South Korea relations, will be resolved as soon as possible.

“The main goal of these talks is definitely to solve the banking problem,” he added.

Regarding South Korea’s attitude towards Iran’s assets in this country, Hemmati noted, “This attitude of South Korea is a big mistake and it is basically unacceptable for Korea to freeze Iran’s assets following a third country order.”

Emphasizing that business partners must be together in sensitive and difficult situations, he said, “We expect the South Korean government to decide independently, regardless of the orders, including the US government.”

He also emphasized legal proceedings in this regard, saying, “If this issue is not resolved, we will continue the legal paths we have started and will continue to pursue our rights and use our assets in Korea.”

Stating that South Korea should not trust the Americans, Hemmati noted, “I believe that South Korea should not base its old and intimate relations with Iran on the relations of other countries and a person like Trump.”

South Korean delegation arrived in Tehran on Sunday in order to discuss Iran’s access to its financial resources.

The delegation’s trip was agreed upon before the seizure of the offending Korean ship, and its main agenda is to discuss how to access Iran’s financial resources in Korea.

South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Jong-Kun also held a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday evening.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati says the economic growth rate in Iran has become positive, both with and without oil revenues.

In a post on his Instagram page on Sunday, the top banker said Iran has achieved a positive economic growth.

The great Iranian nation’s fortitude under the pressure of economic war and outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the efforts of the Iranian economic activists finally yielded results, Hemmati said.

“As I had already announced according to the course of indices of industrial and agricultural production as well as the growth in the credit of working capital of banks, the country’s economic growth has become positive,” the CBI governor announced.

A recent report from the CBI’s economic calculation department shows that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate during the first six months of the current Iranian year (March 20 – September 21) has been positive with and without petrodollars, he stated.

Iran’s economic growth excluding the oil income in the first half of the current Iranian year has increased by +1.4 percent compared to the corresponding period last year, while the economic growth with oil has risen by +1.3 percent compared with the 6-month period a year earlier, he noted.

The CBI chief finally noted that the economic growth with the inclusion of oil has stood at -2.9 percent and +5.1 percent in the last spring and summer, respectively, while the growth rate without oil income has reached -0.6 percent in the first quarter and +3.2 percent in the second quarter of this year.

Meanwhile Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) is organizing an online 3-day Iran-Europe business forum in collaboration with the European Union (EU) which is to open today (December 14).

During this three-day event more than 60 Iranian and European officials will deliver speeches and companies from the two sides will hold online B2B meetings.

This investment conference will be run by the UN’s International Trade Center – an agency jointly managed by the United Nations and the World Trade Organization – and the TPO.

The main purpose of this event is to create a suitable environment for companies on both sides to engage in trade-economic interactions.

The Europe-Iran Business Forum, which is funded by the European Union, will be the first of its kind in two years, according to a statement by the organizers.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Governor of Iran Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati yesterday blamed the sanctions for recent devaluation of the national currency against the foreign currencies in the forex market.

On the sidelines of a ceremony for honoring those exporters who have repatriated their earned forex into the country, Hemmati said that in cooperation with the supervisory organs, $8b out of $27b resulted from the exports which had not been repatriated into the country has returned into the national economic cycle and expressed hope that soon the remaining $19b would return into the country which would help the national currency gains value.

He noted that the CBI has sent the list of exporters, who have not returned their forex into the country, to the Judiciary, expressing hope the Judiciary would help the bank in return of the forex.

On the frozen money of the country in foreign banks, Hemmati said that billions of dollars of the country have been blocked in foreign banks and they are not ready to unblock them due to their fear of the U.S. fines. He added that fortunately some part of them has been blocked and would be injected into the national economic cycle, expressing hope that by injection of the unblocked forex, the power of CBI for interfering in the market for supplying forex would increase.

He reiterated that the CBI accepts any foreign currencies from exporters and they cannot resort to such pretexts that their partners are only ready to pay their money in their national currencies.

Hemmati pointed to the efforts of enemies for closing the national economic gateways and exerting heavy sanctions, adding that fortunately the Islamic Republic of Iran in collaboration with exporters and economic activists has managed the problems and the country is experiencing the last days of pressures.

He noted that oil exports of the country have improved in recent months and he hopes the economic growth would bounce back and become positive.

Hemmati also pointed to the outbreak of Coronavirus and called it a disaster for global economy, adding that Iran also was affected by the virus. He said all programs of the country for getting out of recession or reducing inflation were going ahead well till April but since June, the economic growth has lost its progress.

He added that nobody can benefit from devaluation of national currency and rise in the price of dollar, adding that some people may benefit of it but the society would be the main loser and CBI and the government are not after raising the price of the dollar in order to compensate the budget deficit.

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IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

TEHRAN – Iran’s Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati on Sunday said exporters who have not transferred their foreign currency earnings to the government FOREX system will be summoned for explanations.

In a note about the reasons for the drastic devaluation of the national currency, Hemmati said that the deadline for declaring foreign currencies received from exports was two weeks ago and cannot be extended. Hemmati threatened exporters with summons, in cooperation with the country’s Judiciary.

On Sunday Mohsen Zanganeh, a lawmaker and member of the Parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee, said exporters had kept $20 billion earned from exports outside the country. According to Zanganeh, exporters say they need the government to give them certain guarantees before they transfer the currencies back to Iran.

Exporters keep their money in foreign banks rather than transferring it back to the country because of lack of confidence due to Iran’s economic crisis and the huge devaluation of its currency.

The regulations introduced by the government require exporters to transfer the foreign currencies they receive from their customers to the newly introduced government FOREX system knows as Unified FOREX Transactions System (NIMA) where it would be used to meet the foreign currency needs of importers.

The government said the purpose of the new policy was to direct imports into legal channels, ensure sufficient and fair amount of foreign currencies to importers on a priority basis (essential commodities first) as well as prevention of hard currency smuggling and money laundering.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Iran is escalating its pressure on South Korea to release billions of dollars of oil-export revenue, arguing that Seoul is buckling to pressure from its U.S. ally and illegally withholding funds needed to counter the Middle East’s worst coronavirus outbreak.

Abdolnaser Hemmati, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, said the actions of banks in South Korea were preventing Iran from using the money to buy foods and medicines, trade that’s exempt from U.S. sanctions.

“It is appalling to see that Korean banks have conveniently neglected their obligations, common international financial agreements, and decided to play politics and follow illegal and unilateral U.S. sanctions,” Hemmati said in a written response to questions. Iran could launch legal action to gain access to the funds, he said, without naming the lenders in question.

Hemmati also didn’t elaborate on the course of action that Iran may take. After sanctions were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran the following year managed to unlock over $6.4 billion of oil payments trapped in Indian accounts, using European banks as a clearing agent. The central bank has also filed lawsuits in Europe against financial companies that have withheld its money on the basis of court orders issued in the U.S.

Hemmati declined to say whether he had received an update from the IMF on the loan application. He said Iran is “weathering” the impact of the virus and even expects to see “moderate” economic growth by the end of the year.

Returning to South Korea, he said the two countries have been working on a special trade vehicle, similar to that established with the European Union, which would allow Iran to complete humanitarian transactions using the money locked in Korean banks.

The U.S., which abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal two years ago, has sought to “stonewall” the plan, according to Hemmati. President Donald Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran aims to force its leaders into renegotiating the nuclear accord and ending their support for Hezbollah and Iraqi militias.

The EU mechanism — known as Instex — provides European companies with a trading vehicle to sell goods and services to Iran without using dollars, routing transactions through U.S. banks, or moving money across the Iranian border. But its impact has been limited due to companies’ fears over the reach of American penalties.

“Should Korean banks not adhere to their international agreements with us, we reserve our rights to take legal actions under international laws,” Hemmati said.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Majlis yesterday passed a bill allowing the government to slash four zeros from the rial, after a sharp fall in the value of the currency.

Under the approved bill, Iran’s national currency will be changed from the rial to the Toman, which is equal to 10,000 rials.

The bill needs to be approved by the Guardian Council before it takes effect.

Iran’s state TV said the Central Bank of Iran will have two years to “pave the ground to change the currency to Toman”.

Addressing to the open session of Majlis in defense of the bill, the governor of Central Bank Abdolnaser Hemmati said that because of the inflation in the past five decades, rial and dinar have lost their stamina and actually toman has replaced them in the society and people use toman in their daily trades and they even equals 50 tomans to 50,000 tomans.

On the cost of destroying old banknotes and printing new ones, he said there are some eight billions of banknotes circulating in the country and five billions of them are banknotes with value less than 2,000 tomans and by this approval and cutting four zeros, the bank can circulate one- and two-toman coins.

Hemmati reiterated that currently the bank destroys one billions of banknotes annually which its annual cost is around 400b tomans.

He reiterated that protecting the reputation of the national currency is very important, adding that currently the gap for changing rial with currencies like dollar and euro is very high. He admitted that the ration between national currency with dollar is 0.000006 which is a very weak one in the world.

Hemmati added that cutting the zeros will revive usage of coins in the country, adding that currently the per capita of banknote in the country is 102 and the figure for the coins is just 26 while the per capita of coins in other countries is three times more than Iran.

He once again reiterated that cutting zeros has no impact on inflation and they are other factors which are crucial in inflation.

Hemmati reiterated that replacing the current banknotes with the new ones will be gradual while both rial and toman will be valid during the transition period.  After that phase, all financial commitments based on the rial will be fulfilled in toman, he stressed.

The idea of fewer zeros has been floated for almost 16 years. The initiative to change the currency was first proposed by the government in August.

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