Rouhani Defends Government's Economic Policies: Inflation Reaches 13.8 Percent

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, defended his economic policies during his provincial visit to Hamadan, stating that his government has managed to reduce inflation from over 45 percent to less than 14 percent. The Iranian presidential website reported on Tuesday, September 3, his remarks at a gathering of people in Hamadan, emphasizing that he has fulfilled his electoral promises regarding the economy and the nuclear dispute. He said, "In June 2013, point-to-point inflation was over 45 percent and annual inflation was over 40 percent; at that time, we announced that inflation should be brought down to below 35 percent by the end of that year, while everyone believed this was impossible... but today point-to-point inflation has reached 11.5 percent and annual inflation is at 13.8 percent." Rouhani's statements are based on the latest statistics released by the Statistical Center of Iran on Sunday at the beginning of September, which show that the urban inflation rate in the twelve months ending in August 2015 has decreased to 13.8 percent, while the inflation rate at the end of July was 14.1 percent. Meanwhile, point-to-point inflation, which was recorded at 12.8 percent at the end of July, has now reached 11.5 percent. In his speech on Tuesday, Rouhani also reiterated his defense of the nuclear agreement and his government's policies in this regard, emphasizing that this agreement has lifted the "ominous shadow of war" from the Iranian people. He stated that when he took office two years ago, he spoke about resolving the nuclear issue while "some friends and prominent experts explicitly said that if you want to eliminate the existing resolutions in this area, the last centrifuges in the country must be destroyed... but ultimately the right to enrich uranium for the Iranian nation was internationally recognized, and the structure of sanctions collapsed." These remarks come as some conservative figures in Iran have criticized the nuclear agreement, including Hossein Shariatmadari, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei at the Kayhan newspaper, who stated that the Supreme Leader is not satisfied with this agreement. In the U.S., Congressional Republicans and even some Democrats have opposed the nuclear agreement. However, the White House has threatened to veto Congress's decision if it opposes the Vienna agreement.