Iran Budget to Counter U.S. ‘Maximum Pressure’

President Hassan Rouhani submitted a draft budget for the coming fiscal year designed to offset the impact of Washington’s “maximum pressure” policy on the Islamic Republic.

The “endurance and counter-sanctions budget,” which covers the 12 months ending March 2021, comes to around 4.8 quadrillion rials, or around $115 billion based on the fixed government exchange rate and about $37 billion based on the unregulated exchange rate.

Last year, before the U.S. ended sanctions waivers on imports of Iranian oil, the government’s share of the budget amounted to around $97 billion, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. Inflation hit 47.2% in October according to figures published by Iran’s statistics center.

Rouhani said the next budget will still include projected income from oil, condensate and gas, though it will be a third of the $32.6 billion allocated in this year’s spending bill and is projected to amount to just $10.8 billion, based on the fixed, official exchange rate. A $5 billion loan from Russia for previously agreed power plant developments is also included the bill, according to a live broadcast on the website of the official parliamentary news service, ICANA.

Rouhani said he expects parliament to approve a final budget bill in early February.