Iran Focus

London, 31 Jan - Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has blamed the current economic crisis besieging the Gulf state on the US, citing American sanctions and pressure on other countries to abide by these sanctions, complaining that these are the worst in 40 years.

Rouhani said: “Today our problems are primarily because of pressure from America and its followers. And the dutiful government and Islamic system should not be blamed,”

Iran Focus

London, 22 Jan - There is little chance of Iran being able to save its damaged banking sector as US sanctions really take their toll on the economy, causing bad loans to mount up, according to a new report.

The report, released on Tuesday by Fitch Solutions, said: “Many Iranian banks are in need of recapitalisation and restructuring, having accumulated high levels of non-performing loans. We see little scope for meaningful progress.”

Iran Focus

London, 30 Jan - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the European Union was launching a special purpose vehicle (SPV) in order to continue trading with Iran, despite US sanctions.

He said: “As far as the special purpose vehicle is concerned: it will be registered, it has not yet been registered, but I would say that the implementation of our plan is imminent."

Iran Focus

London, 15 Jan - In its efforts to intensify the pressure on Iran, the U.S. plans to grant no new waivers to buyers of Iranian oil. The aim is to eliminate the Middle Eastern producer’s exports of crude, according to a senior official.

Iran’s exports have been cut to about 1 million barrels a day — down from a level of 2.7 million prior to the US exit from the Iran nuclear deal and imposition of sanctions announced by Washington.