Oct 5, 2015

Four ministers from the administration wrote a letter to President Hassan Rouhani warning him that Iran’s economic situation could turn into a “condition of crisis” that would take many years to recover from. The most surprising signature on the letter was that of Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, who is not known to get involved in nonmilitary matters.

The letter, which was published by Mehr News Agency Oct. 4, was dated Sept. 9. It was also signed by Ali Teyebnia, minister of economy and finance; Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, minister of industries and business; and Ali Rabiei, minister of labor. The publication of the letter has led to a wide range of commentary and questions in Iranian media.

The letter stated that there are eight reasons for the “rare decline” in Iran’s economy, such as sanctions and the drop in oil prices, but added that “uncoordinated decisions and policies” of various governmental agencies is the primary reason for the current economic situation.

After the letter was published in the Iranian media, Teyebnia told Iranian television that upon receiving the letter, Rouhani had ordered officials “to review again the capital market situation and [state] of the economy and for new polices to be created when necessary.”

Shargh daily asked why the four ministers would write to the president to address issues for which they themselves are responsible. According to experts who spoke with Shargh, the letter was meant to serve as a warning to Iranian parliamentarians to vote in favor of implementing the final nuclear agreement. Iranian officials opposed to the nuclear agreement, which would remove economic sanctions in return for reduced nuclear activity, have argued that Iran can pull itself out of its current economic situation by relying on domestic production rather than international markets.