Iran sanctions likely to slow world growth: IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran would likely lead to a lower economic growth in the world next year.

The IMF said on Wednesday that Iran sanctions, the China-US trade war and the uncertainty over Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union were the three main factors that had caused the Fund to revise its outlook for global economic growth.

“ ... sanctions on Iran, have led to downward revisions despite a near-term strengthening in oil prices,” said the IMF on its blog, adding that recovery in growth between 2019 and 2020 would largely depend on improved growth outcomes in stressed economies like Iran.

The Fund cited the impacts of US sanctions on Iran’s oil industry as a major element that could weaken the world’s economy in future.

The projections come as Washington has dramatically increased its economic pressure on Iran since US President Donald Trump withdrew from a major international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program in May last year.

The sanctions have affected Iran’s ability to engage in normal trade and business ventures with other countries while depriving Tehran of much of the oil revenues that was once used for development and infrastructure projects.

In a bid to offset the impacts of sanctions, Iran has embarked on various programs to diversify the economy and help non-oil exports as it seeks more access to foreign currencies at the time of reduced crude exports.

The IMF had projected in April that Iran’s economy will shrink by about six percent next year. The international lender provided no update on the economic growth in the country in its revised projections.

Press TV