CEO of Tehran Stock Exchange: Beauty Salon Revenues Exceed Stock Market; Expert: Result of Command Economy

The CEO of the Tehran Stock Exchange has stated that "the revenues of women's beauty salons exceed those of the stock market"; an economic expert has described the current state of the stock market as "a complete reflection of a command economy." Mahmoud Goudarzi, the CEO of the Tehran Stock Exchange, emphasized that the state of Iran's capital market is such that the Islamic Republic must either open the country's gates for financing or turn to cryptocurrencies. According to the website "Tejarat News" on Thursday, June 14, Goudarzi also announced that "the Iranian capital market is still stagnating" and that an eight percent growth rate "is merely a dream with this banking system and stock market situation." Political instability has led to a shaky state of the stock market in Iran. Reports indicate that since the beginning of June, "3,203 billion tomans" have exited the stock market. In this context, Mehdi Rabati, an economic activist, stated that "the value of small transactions in the Tehran stock market reached 45 million dollars yesterday (Wednesday)," marking the "lowest figure since 2018," while "new companies and capital increases have occurred equivalent to the market value in that year." According to this economic activist, "this situation is a complete reflection of a command economy" that is the result of escaping from a market economy and the outcome of economic policies over the past three years, as well as "indicating that most industries in the country are on the verge of loss and the dire state of deep economic recession due to the central bank's policies." Following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash with his companions, media in Iran report that due to the uncertainty regarding the economic approach of the new government official and investors' concerns about the outlook of businesses and the Iranian economy, the speed of capital outflow has increased, and "the stock market is experiencing a negative and ambiguous trend." Before Raisi's death, the "dollar rate" was considered a determining factor in the market; however, with the stock market's decline in recent weeks, some experts believe that "in the short term, an increase in the dollar rate cannot breathe new life into this market." Some economic experts have warned about the state of production in Iran, calling it "appalling." Meanwhile, protests over living conditions by various guilds and groups continue, with protesters emphasizing in their slogans that the electoral promises of the candidates favored by the Guardian Council to succeed Ebrahim Raisi are "lies and fruitless." Siamak Ghasemi, an economist, has pointed out that according to a report from an economic research institute, six out of the top ten imported goods into Iran are "only food." In recent days, Arzu Karimi, an economic journalist, described the stock market as "a complete reflection of the Iranian economy" in an interview with Voice of America, emphasizing that the state of production in the country is "appalling."