TEHRAN -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi presented an upbeat state budget on Sunday that aims for 8% economic growth and increased crude oil sales of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) despite U.S. sanctions.
Iran and the remaining signatories to a 2015 nuclear deal are locked in talks in Vienna on reviving the agreement and removing U.S. sanctions, but President Raisi and his cabinet members have stressed that they will not tie the country’s economy to the results of the negotiations.
Iran’s top budget official has said the fiscal plan for the next Iranian year which starts on March 21 was drawn up on the assumption that the U.S. sanctions would continue.
“The growth projects include 4.5% in investment growth and 3.5% in productivity growth,” Raisi told parliament, presenting the draft budget based on 1.2 million bpd in oil exports projected at a price of $60 per barrel.
Iranian media gave the value of the nominally balanced budget at 15,052 trillion rials, equivalent to $50.2 billion at the free market exchange rate of the Iranian currency.
The new budget is about 10% bigger than the current budget in local currency terms although its value in real terms is lower due to annual inflation running at more than 40%.
The Tasnim news agency said the budget allocates about $5 billion to strengthen Iran’s defense program.
The Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in a report in June that Iran’s economic recovery is likely to be modest should it revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
The United States reimposed sanctions, hitting Iran’s economy by driving down crude sales, after Washington withdrew in 2018 from the nuclear pact.
The draft budget has to be passed by parliament and approved by an oversight that vets legislation before it becomes law.