Iran to repay over $1 billion to IMF for stabilising national currency

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has signed a decree to repay the country’s debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), amounting to $1.1 billion (46.756 trillion Iranian rials).

This decision was made with the aim of stabilizing the national currency, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Following the 2015 nuclear deal, which led to the lifting of most Western sanctions on Tehran, Iran experienced a significant reduction in inflation.

According to the World Bank, inflation dropped from 36.6% in 2013 to 7.2% in 2016, a decrease of nearly 30 percentage points.

However, after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed Western sanctions, inflation in Iran surged, reaching 44.6% by the end of 2023. Iran's new President, Masoud Pezeshkian, has identified increasing household incomes and strengthening the rial as the main priorities of his administration.