Iran economy ups despite sanctions

The volume of transactions in Iran’s investment market has seen a 10 percent growth despite new UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions, an Iranian official says.

The UNSC adopted new sanctions against the Islamic Republic last month. The sanctions came after US’s hard lobbying for new punitive measures against Tehran over its nuclear work.

Behrouz Alishiri, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, said Thursday that the new sanctions have proved to be futile as the volume of transactions in Iran’s investment market has seen a 10 percent growth since the ratification of the UN resolution, IRNA reported.

The Iranian official further pointed out that according to the reports released by the International Monetary Fund, foreign investment in Iran has risen from $900 million in 2007 to $3 billion in 2009.

Alishiri, who is also the Director of the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran, said that cheap energy resources and skillful human force were among the reasons behind foreign investment in the country.

According to Alishiri, Iran’s stable economic condition has also attracted foreign investment to the country.