Iran misses investment target from nuclear deals

TEHERAN: The investment gold rush that was supposed to follow Iran’s nuclear deal and revitalise the economy has not materialised, leaving voters disillusioned ahead of Friday’s election.

The figures say it all — President Hassan Rouhani wanted US$50 billion (RM216.9 billion) a year in foreign investment to reach his target of eight per cent growth.

But since the nuclear deal came into force in January last year, lifting some sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran’s atomic programme, only US$1 billion to US$2 billion worth of deals have actually been finalised, said his deputy Eshaq Jahangiri.

Unofficial polls still show Rouhani in the lead for Friday’s election, but faced with a 12.5 per cent unemployment rate it is no wonder that many have lost faith in his administration.

All this has been a boon for Rouhani’s conservative opponents, who say the government has failed to cash in on the nuclear deal.

“A tree that has not born any fruit in four years will not yield anything positive in the future,” said presidential candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP