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The international sanctions that were imposed against Iran over three decades appeared to have benefitted its economy, especially that the isolation policy forced Tehran to adapt to low oil prices more quickly than crude exporters, reported Moody’s Investors service.

According to the report, “Gross domestic product will grow 5 percent in 2016-2017, thanks to a solid foundation built to cope with exclusion from the global financial system.”

In an e-mailed research on the first of February, Moody’s said that “The removal of sanctions as part of a nuclear deal reached last year will grant Iran access to about $150 billion in its frozen foreign assets, which will be spent on reviving the country’s aging infrastructure, it said. The country also will regain access to the international payment system, lowering trade and financial costs.”

Oil prices slumped to a 2003 low below $28 per barrel on Monday as the market anticipated a rise in Iranian exports after the lifting of sanctions against Tehran over the weekend.

Responding to Tehran's compliance with a nuclear deal, the United States and major powers revoked international sanctions that had cut Iran's oil exports by about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) since their pre-sanctions 2011 peak to little more than 1 million bpd.

On February 15, Secretary of Iran's Urban Economics Scientific Association said he believed that the cruel economic war imposed on Iran by sanctions would be overcome by Resistance Economy policies.

Atsi Sheth, an associate managing director at Moody’s, said in a statement that “International sanctions meant that Iran had to adapt to the reality of lower oil revenues and implement structural reforms much earlier than other oil-exporters,” adding “Most other oil-dependent sovereigns are only just beginning to consider structural fiscal reform.”

“Since 2013, a combination of prudent policies, including increasing sources of non-oil revenues to pay for higher capital expenditures, combined with partial sanctions relief following the interim nuclear agreement led to a recovery, with real GDP growth at 4.3% in 2014,” Moody’s further said in the report.

According to Moody’s, “With its $417 billion economy, which is the second-largest in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia and more diversified than other regional oil exporters, Iran has a solid foundation for rapid economic development and growth.”

The report added that “It also benefits from a young, well-educated labor force and a large industrial base.”

Escalation of sanctions in 2012 forced Iran to remove exemptions for some large non-taxpayers and curb fuel subsidies to bring prices closer to market levels.

IRNA quoted Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi as saying that the first shipment in five years marked “a new chapter” in Iran’s oil industry. He did not elaborate but IRNA said several western tankers have loaded Iran’s oil in recent days. Javadi said Iran has already reached agreement to export oil to France, Russia and Spain.