Iranian President proposes creating a unified regional currency
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose country is suffering under international sanctions that are crippling its economy, has proposed creating a unified regional currency to boost trade, the Iranian presidency said Tuesday.
International sanctions, particularly those imposed by the United States due to Iran’s nuclear program, are the main obstacle to Iran’s financial and trade exchanges with the rest of the world.
These sanctions have had a significant impact on the Iranian economy and the rial, which continues its steady decline against the dollar, leading to hyperinflation.
During his meeting with the Tajik Interior Minister in Tehran, Pezeshkian said, “A common currency could be adopted in the region to promote economic development”.
He added, according to what the Iranian presidency reported during the Economic Cooperation Organization summit, that thanks to the religious and cultural ties that unite the countries of the region, favorable conditions can be created for communication and the removal of obstacles.
The Economic Cooperation Organization was founded in 1985 at the initiative of Iran, Pakistan, and Türkiye, with the aim of promoting trade exchanges.
Currently, it has ten members, including five Central Asian countries (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan), in addition to Azerbaijan and Afghanistan, with a combined population of more than 550 million people.
Iran, with a population of over 90 million and located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, considers its geographical location a strategic advantage.
Tehran seeks to intensify its economic cooperation with neighboring countries to expand its trade outlets amid tensions with Western countries over its nuclear program.
The Security Council reimposed sanctions on Tehran in late September, after France, Britain, and Germany activated the “snapback mechanism” included in the 2015 nuclear agreement, from which the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018.
