Signing of Iran's First Foreign Contract After Nuclear Agreement

The First Vice President of Iran announced that the first foreign contract after the Vienna nuclear agreement has been signed and will soon be approved by the cabinet. According to Mehr News Agency, Eshaq Jahangiri stated on Tuesday, October 20, that this contract will bring 4.2 million euros of investment into Iran's electricity sector. Mr. Jahangiri did not provide further details about this agreement. Following the nuclear agreement, managers from several European companies have traveled to Iran. Meanwhile, Tasnim News Agency reported that ambassadors from Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary are consulting with Iranian economic representatives to explore their conditions for participating in Iran's economy. According to the state news agency IRNA, Mr. Jahangiri also predicted that Iran's economic growth in 2016 would exceed 7 percent. The First Vice President of Iran forecasted that with the lifting of Western sanctions in December, a 'new era' of Iran's economy would begin. According to Mr. Jahangiri, from the day sanctions are lifted, Iran's oil production will increase by 500,000 barrels per day, and Iran can 'quickly' raise its oil production to two million barrels per day. Mr. Jahangiri had previously stated on September 10 that the 3 percent economic growth of 2014 did not continue into 2015. The International Monetary Fund reported on October 5 that Iran's economic growth this year would be around -0.5 to 0.5 percent, depending on when sanctions are lifted. However, some analysts have expressed hope that Iran's economy could grow by about 4 to 5.5 percent in 2016 with increased oil production. Valiollah Seif, the head of Iran's Central Bank, has also predicted that Iran's economic growth in 2016, with oil production reaching two million barrels per day, could reach 5 percent. 'The National Development Fund had only 12 million dollars in reserve instead of 171 billion dollars,' the First Vice President of Iran stated in another part of his remarks. 'According to the calculations of the Court of Audit, there should have been 171 billion dollars in the foreign exchange reserve account, but the gentlemen spent it recklessly, and when we ask them where this money went and what its effects are, they get upset.' Mr. Jahangiri noted that despite Iran's oil revenue of 118 billion dollars in 2011, the country's economic growth in 2012 was -8.6 percent. He again accused the previous government of taking '22 billion dollars to Dubai and Istanbul to sell and keep the exchange rate low' during a 17-month period. Mr. Jahangiri has repeatedly accused Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government of economic corruption, stating on February 2, 2015, that 'the greatest and most significant corruption of the century occurred during the previous administration.' Mr. Jahangiri's comments about the previous government led to a complaint from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but ultimately, the spokesperson for Iran's judiciary announced on October 10 that the prosecutor's office had issued a decision to dismiss the case regarding this complaint.