Iranian economists slam Ayatollah regime over Nuclear Weapons program

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Iran economists slam Ahmadinejad in open letter

13 hours ago

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran's confrontational attitude toward the rest of the world is costing the country dearly in lost trade and investment, according to a letter signed by 60 economists published on Saturday.

The open letter, the latest broadside against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and published by the semi-official Ilna news agency, denounced the "heavy price paid by the country over the negative consequences of government policy."

In particular, it spoke of the "misguided trade policy and the policy of tension with the rest of the world, which has deprived Iran of opportunities for trade and foreign investment."

It said the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council over Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment had added billions of dollars in extra costs to the country's foreign trade.

The letter, signed by economists from major universities around the country, criticises what it calls "extremist idealism," an "undue haste in acting" and the "absence of cost assessment on economic programmes."

The economists also warn that the current global economic crisis "will impose heavy costs on the country," while also pointing out that government finances will be severely hurt by the precipitous recent drop in oil prices.

Crude oil income accounts for 80 percent of foreign earnings for Iran, OPEC's second largest exporter, making the economy highly vulnerable to oil price shifts.

Earlier this week, central bank vice president Ramin Pashaifam warned that if the price for oil falls below 60 dollars a barrel, "our economy will face big problems."

And even at a minimum price of 60 dollars, he said Iran would still need to use savings from oil revenues to cover its budget needs.

Saturday's letter criticised the government for overspending oil revenues in the past three fiscal years, saying the figure totaled 142.6 billion dollars when it should have been only 47 billion.

Ahmadinejad swept to power in 2005 on a populist campaign of ploughing huge amounts of cash into local infrastructure and granting low-interest business loans to create jobs.

He has come under fire over those policies, and that has resulted in several key economic figures being sacked, including the central bank head and economy minister.

Economists have lamented a focus on encouraging consumption that has seen imports surge, rather than investing in domestic industry and saving for the future.

AFP: Iran economists slam Ahmadinejad in open letter