Dollar Resistance After Lausanne Statement

The newspaper Shahre Vahdat dedicated the front page of its April 16 issue to the joy of youth in the streets of Tehran following the "Lausanne nuclear agreement," noting that "the joy of the people has been enriched." Simultaneously, the newspaper Javan warned on its front page about the "bipolarization" of Iran's political atmosphere, stating that "the nuclear issue is not a battleground for internal political confrontations." This newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, mentioned that after the Lausanne agreement, a space has emerged in Iran that seems organized by a specific faction to create a pro and con bipolarity within society, steering the country towards political confrontation and targeting national unity. The newspaper Sharq, in its Sunday issue, examined the effects of the Lausanne agreement on the currency and gold markets, reporting on the "dollar's insistence on the rate of 3200 tomans" and the "resistance of the dollar" against price reduction after the Lausanne statement. It quoted experts in the gold and currency markets in Tehran as saying, "The government may not be inclined to lower the rate and may even prefer to increase it." However, the newspaper Jahan San'at reported on the market's reaction to the Lausanne agreement, stating that "two days after the announcement of the Iran and 1+5 statement and on the first working day of the week, the currency and gold markets reacted to the results of the negotiations; to the extent that the price of gold coins fell by 18,000 tomans and the dollar by 103 tomans." This newspaper also noted that, as expected, the stock market experienced a memorable day for shareholders under the positive shock of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the West, with the stock index rising by 2099 units, marking an unprecedented historical leap. The newspaper Etemad reported that "domestic policy" is the government's program for the year 94, with Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli naming 94 as the year of "domestic policy." This newspaper also referenced the President's special emphasis on the "decisive year of domestic policy," stating that "the government's shift in focus from foreign policy to domestic policy began from the very first moments of the new year" and that "Hassan Rouhani, now that he is relieved about foreign policy, wants to focus on domestic issues." The newspaper Ebtekar reported on the First Vice President's promise to "lift the media ban" on Mohammad Khatami, the President from 1997 to 2005. According to this newspaper, Eshaq Jahangiri announced on Saturday that "this issue will be resolved in the near future" regarding the "media and speech bans on the reformist government leader," stating, "This issue is part of momentary and transient events that, God willing, will be resolved soon." The newspaper Iran, close to the government, dedicated its front page to a report on the "approval of the plan for women's presence" in sports halls, quoting "Abdolhamid Ahmadi, the cultural, educational, and research deputy of the Minister of Sports and Youth, as saying that the proposed plan for women's and families' presence in sports halls has been approved by the National Security Council" and wrote that "this plan will be implemented this year." Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, told the newspaper Iran that "women's presence is only prohibited in sports halls like volleyball, and they still cannot attend stadiums," adding that "the issue of women's presence in stadiums should always be on the agenda of a joint committee consisting of the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Vice Presidency for Women and Family Affairs and should continue," and that these prohibitions and "discriminations will gradually be lifted." The newspaper Iran reminded that "last year, following the prevention of women's entry into the 12,000-capacity Azadi Stadium to watch the Iranian national volleyball team's games in the World League, the issue of women's presence in stadiums was once again raised in public and media spaces." "The joy of the people has been enriched" The newspaper Shahre Vahdat dedicated the front page of its April 16 issue to the joy of youth in the streets of Tehran following the "Lausanne nuclear agreement," noting that "the joy of the people has been enriched." According to this newspaper, "the people of Iran" expressed their satisfaction with the results of the nuclear negotiations on the evening of Friday, April 14, by taking to the streets, and in addition to the capital, "citizens across Iran in various provinces came to the streets in spontaneous gatherings on Friday evening, honking their horns, celebrating, and expressing their feelings in the form of celebratory caravans in satisfaction with the results achieved in the nuclear negotiations in Lausanne." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reported that "this celebration was held in various cities across the country, including Ahvaz, Mashhad, Khorramabad, Arak, Kermanshah, Qazvin, Rasht, Kermanshah, Hamadan, Zanjan, Birjand, Yasuj, and..." and that participants thanked and expressed support for President Hassan Rouhani and especially Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of the eleventh government, for the "Lausanne agreement." This newspaper noted that "the people's presence in the streets was based on an arrangement made through social networks, asking people to come to the streets at 8 PM to show their joy over the results of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the 1+5 group in Lausanne, Switzerland," stating that "in these spontaneous gatherings, various groups, including young and old, men and women, participated, chanting 'Long live Iran' and honking their horns in celebration, waving their hands in a sign of victory, and congratulating each other. They also chanted slogans such as 'Don't look, Zarif, you have six countries as opponents,' 'Iran is proud, the enemy is humiliated,' 'Iran Iran, the land of lions,' 'Zarif, we love you,' and 'God is great,' thanking the nuclear negotiation team for their efforts in the negotiations." The newspaper Shahre Vahdat reminded that similar gatherings were held in Tehran for two consecutive nights, and on Friday evening, "the crowd that gathered for this purpose on Valiasr Street, between Zartosht Street and Valiasr Square, expressed their gratitude to the nuclear negotiation team and to Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister and President, by chanting slogans such as 'Rouhani, Rouhani, we support you,' 'Zarif, thank you,' and 'Doctor Zarif, long live, Rouhani, long live,' and repeatedly sang the song 'My Schoolmate' and chanted slogans in protest against negative reactions to the results of the Lausanne negotiations." The warning from the newspaper Javan about the intensification of the "bipolar" political atmosphere after the Lausanne agreement At the same time, the newspaper Javan, on its front page, warned about the "bipolarization" of Iran's political atmosphere, stating that "the nuclear issue is not a battleground for internal political confrontations." Jafar Takbiri, in the front page of the newspaper Javan, titled "The Danger of Bipolarization: A Spring from the Summer Agreement," wrote that "the Lausanne statement on the nuclear issue, which came after a nine-day negotiation marathon, although it could be the beginning of a process to close our country's nuclear file, has created a wave of confusion in society due to the different interpretations from various internal and external political factions; a space that seems to be organized by a specific faction to create a pro and con bipolarity within society, steering the country towards political confrontation and targeting national unity." The newspaper Javan also wrote: "The nuclear issue has always been a means of creating unity in the country, and all political figures, whether right or left, have viewed this issue as a national file," and now the Lausanne statement, "which is a strategy for achieving a final agreement, has been obtained by the Islamic Republic's government and foreign policy apparatus, and it should not be appropriated or suppressed in the name of a faction." This newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, pointed out the achievements of the Lausanne agreement and emphasized that "negotiations will continue until July," stating that the Lausanne statement "which is a prelude to achieving a final agreement, promotes a narrative in the country that achieving an agreement is the end of hostilities between Iran and the US. Meanwhile, there is no will in either Iran or the United States to end this hostility. This is evidenced by the lack of lifting non-nuclear sanctions, including D'Amato sanctions, missile sanctions, human rights, and terrorism sanctions." "Dollar Resistance" after the Lausanne Statement; "The Stock Market Received the Message of Politics" The newspaper Sharq, while examining the effects of the Lausanne agreement on the currency and gold markets, reported on the "dollar's insistence on the rate of 3200 tomans" and the "resistance of the dollar" against price reduction after the Lausanne statement. The newspaper Sharq wrote: "It seemed that the positive outcome of the nuclear negotiations in Lausanne would directly impact the currency market, but the currency and gold markets did not react much to these positive changes and quickly repaired their decline at the beginning of the market's activity on Saturday morning and returned above 3200 tomans." Sharq noted that "the dollar rate opened on Saturday morning at 3180 tomans," stating that the dollar "quickly returned above 3200 tomans and even increased to 3280 tomans in the middle of the day, although by the end of Saturday's trading, it decreased to 3250 to 3260 tomans." Mohsen Ghaderi, a gold and currency expert, told this newspaper: "Considering that the dollar rate for state companies is 2800 tomans, it is not very reasonable for the dollar rate in the free market to drop below 3200 tomans. Therefore, the slight drop in the dollar rate on the first working day of the market was not unexpected." This gold and currency expert pointed to the "increased demand" in the currency market as one reason for the dollar's price stability, emphasizing that "the government may not be inclined to lower the rate and may even prefer to increase it," adding that "it should be noted that the dollar rate has remained around this figure for about two or three years, and in fact, 3200 tomans is considered the floor price for the dollar, as even considering the lowest inflation rate, this figure is not very logical." Parviz Mohammadi, a senior expert in the gold, coin, and currency market, also wrote in a note in the newspaper Sharq emphasizing the "resistance of the dollar after the Lausanne statement," stating that "all economic experts and market participants predicted that after Iran's nuclear agreement with Western countries, the currency market would experience a shock and the dollar rate would fall below its real value; however, contrary to everyone's expectations, this did not happen, and the dollar price even rose above the rates before the announcement of the agreement." According to this currency and gold market expert, Hassan Rouhani's economic team used the experience of December 3, 2013, and the drop in currency prices after the Geneva agreement, and after the Lausanne agreement, "by timely controlling the market, prevented the currency market from being shocked and kept it insulated from fluctuations caused by the psychological atmosphere." The author of the note in the newspaper Sharq reminded that "excessive reduction of the dollar price is detrimental to Iran's exports, especially for private exporters," and on the other hand, "the unrealistic dollar price in domestic markets leads to excessive imports of foreign goods and makes it impossible for domestic producers to compete with foreign counterparts." Parviz Mohammadi wrote: "A sudden drop in the dollar price may seem pleasant in the short term, but this is a populist view, and certainly, based on past experiences, if this price drop is unjustified and illogical, we will soon witness a rise in prices again." The author of the note in the newspaper Sharq emphasized that "currently, Iran's economy needs stabilization of the exchange rate more than a reduction in the exchange rate." The newspaper Sharq also reported that on Saturday, the price of a new design gold coin was 941,000 tomans, and the price of an old design gold coin was also 940,000 tomans, with some currency exchanges refraining from quoting their gold prices, citing "price fluctuations due to the Lausanne negotiations." This newspaper quoted Mohammad Kashti-Arai, the head of the Gold and Jewelry Union, about the state of the gold market after the Lausanne negotiations, stating: "The price of gold and coins has currently reached its lowest point in the market." At the same time, the newspaper Jahan San'at reported on the market's reaction to the Lausanne agreement, stating that "two days after the announcement of the Iran and 1+5 statement and on the first working day of the week, the currency and gold markets reacted to the results of the negotiations; to the extent that the price of gold coins fell by 18,000 tomans and the dollar by 103 tomans." According to this newspaper, on Saturday, April 15, "in the currency market, each dollar fell by 103 tomans and was sold at 3193 tomans," and also "the price of each gram of 18-carat gold fell by 2191 tomans and was priced at 93,983 tomans. Each mithqal of gold was sold for 407,500 tomans." Jahan San'at reminded that "previously, Saeed Leilaz, an economic analyst, had predicted that the dollar price would decrease by at least 200 tomans after the nuclear agreement," and Masoud Khansari, a member of the board of representatives of the Iran and Tehran Chamber of Commerce, also "predicted that the pricing trend would be downward in the early days of the week," but after the Lausanne agreement, "market participants believe that prices will continue to decline until the end of trading, but with the elimination of the psychological effects of the nuclear agreement, prices still have the potential to rise to around 3200 tomans." This newspaper, on its front page titled "The Stock Market Received the Message of Politics," wrote: "As expected, the stock market experienced a memorable day for shareholders under the positive shock of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the West. Yesterday, the stock index rose by 2099 units, marking an unprecedented historical leap. Meanwhile, all stock indices collectively experienced nearly a 20% increase in the market. Additionally, the market value also approached 10 trillion tomans in one day.