Rouhani: Government's Currency Decisions Were a 'Preemptive Slap' Against US Deadline on JCPOA

Hassan Rouhani, announcing that he has opposed the method of distributing state currency from the beginning, claimed that 'the current currency conditions are the best and most desirable' and also stated that his government's currency decisions were a 'preemptive slap' in relation to the US deadline regarding the JCPOA. According to IRNA news agency, on Saturday, April 20, Rouhani, speaking to senior government officials, referred to the currency distribution system, stating that the government would give 'several sacks of dollars' to currency exchange offices every morning, and they would, like fruit sellers, give the best goods to 'the better ones.' He added that he has opposed the method of currency distribution from the start. Regarding currency fluctuations, he said: 'Who created these conditions? Foreign wolves or some internal profiteers, which I will not delve into.' He defended the government's decision to set the currency rate at 4,200 tomans, stating that the currency needed by producers, importers, and other groups is provided, assuring them to 'be at ease.' Rouhani also mentioned that the government's decisions regarding currency are 'a preemptive slap for the US decision on May 11.' He announced that his government has prepared the necessary plans regarding the possible US exit from the nuclear agreement and has given the necessary orders to the Atomic Energy Organization. Donald Trump, the US President, three months ago set a deadline for US allies to address the 'catastrophic flaws' in the JCPOA, threatening that if these flaws were not addressed, he would no longer be willing to extend the suspension of sanctions against Iran and might exit the nuclear deal. While such an action is expected to lead to an increase in the dollar price in Iran, the sudden increase in the dollar price began on April 7 of this year, and within three days, the price of this currency increased by about 900 tomans, reaching six thousand tomans. Following this, Rouhani's government announced measures to reduce the currency rate, including declaring that the currency rate above 4,200 tomans is 'smuggling,' prohibiting the holding of more than 10,000 euros, and banning direct sales of currency by exchange offices. Some analysts have stated that the announcement of a 'fixed rate' for currency and 'security measures' may prevent the increase in currency prices in the short term, but will have no long-term effect, just as currency prices continued to rise despite 'security measures in the previous government' or in the last months of the previous year. The Leader of the Islamic Republic spoke on April 18 about what he called 'the fingerprints of foreign intelligence agencies' in currency fluctuations. In this context, Hessameddin Ashna, an advisor to Rouhani, accused Saudi Arabia of influencing the Iranian currency market through the UAE, Turkey, and the Kurdistan region of Iraq. However, some websites and Telegram channels have reported that the outflow of currencies from economic institutions affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards from the market is one of the reasons for the dollar's price increase. Experts believe that reports of a possible US exit from the Vienna nuclear agreement have also been one of the reasons for the sudden increase in the dollar price. In another part of his speech on Saturday, Rouhani emphasized that oversight agencies have no right to interfere in executive affairs and that managers who 'fear the frown of this or that' should resign from their positions. He asked his government managers to 'not pay attention to threatening letters from other institutions' and added that 'if you are afraid to respond to them, send it to me so I can respond.' He gave an example, without going into details, saying that 'an oversight agency wrote to our ministry that the type of airplane you are buying is better in this model; I wrote back, what does it have to do with you? Do you think that because you are an oversight agency, you should also determine the type of airplane, car, and ship for us?' After the nuclear agreement with world powers, which led to the lifting of some international sanctions in exchange for limitations on Iran's nuclear program, Iran managed to sign contracts for new airplanes with two major aircraft manufacturing companies, Boeing and Airbus, after decades of restrictions on renewing its air fleet. The purchase of new airplanes faced opposition from some groups of conservative critics of the government, as these groups do not consider renewing the air fleet a priority for the country. On the other hand, in October of last year, in one case, the head of the country's General Inspection Organization, one of the oversight bodies of the Islamic Republic, announced that they were 'reviewing the contracts for purchasing airplanes, especially flight-check airplanes' and said that this inspection organization had entered this issue and is examining it within the framework of a case, but since it has not resulted in any conclusions, there is no possibility of disclosure. Previously, some domestic news sources, including Kayhan newspaper, claimed that the Ministry of Roads had purchased a flight-check airplane worth three million euros for 11 million euros, a claim that was later denied by officials of the Ministry of Roads.