Name: Why Iran's hardliners won parliamentary elections | FT
Uploaded: 2020-03-07T16:03:33.000Z
Duration: 6 min 17 s
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Hardline forces in Iran have succeeded at the ballot box

partly by capitalising on Donald Trump's hostility and maximum

president Hassan Rouhani, who is in his second and final term.

that the country could open up to the outside world.

It also sets the tone for presidential elections

But a low turnout also reflects the disillusionment

I met one 25-year old who voted for Rouhani in 2017.

Iran signed with world powers would usher

He didn't vote this time, saying all politicians are the same.

Such grim emotions are common in a country of 80m people facing

Trump's sanctions have strangled the government's ability

to export oil and pushed the country into a deep recession.

The Iranian regime must abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons,

stop spreading terror, death, and destruction,

and start working for the good of its own people.

Mr Rouhani said in December that Iran had lost more than $200bn

in revenue and investment as a result of Mr Trump's

Prices soared as inflation rocket up to about 40 per cent.

And the Iranian rial lost more than half its value

The government is struggling for foreign currency, cut off

forced the republic to develop a diversified economy.

Iranian companies produce much of the country's food,

pharmaceuticals, steel, and cement needs.

And some factories manufacturing household appliances

This is all part of the government being forced to push

The car industry, which employs more than 500,000 people,

After Peugeot and Renault pulled out of joint ventures

the government is desperate for local production

to remain an important part of the economy.

where the company is ramping up production.

In September, it was producing just 900 cars a day.

plans to go to more than 2,500 or about 2,500 in a few months.

The reason for the increase is partly due to government

support, help from the Ministry of Defence,

which is helping produce some of the more technical components

because of the localisation of spare parts.

Before, the company was relying more on imports.

Now, it's relying more on local production

It's an example of how Iranian companies are trying

to get around the US regime of maximum pressure

But this cannot mask the intense pressure on the economy.

Iran's oil exports are vital for foreign currency earnings.

Analysts estimate they've plummeted to a few 100,000

Virtually no western bank will do business

And that's despite the fact that most of the world,

including European and Asian governments,

oppose Mr Trump's decision to pull out of the nuclear deal

goods using trans-shipment hubs in Iraq, Turkey, the United

Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan, as they struggle

Iran's crisis began in May 2018, when Mr Trump unilaterally

withdrew the US from the nuclear deal, which Iran

for the lifting of many western sanctions.

Iranians were beginning to feel the benefits as the republic's

Western companies, including Peugeot and Renault,

vast natural resources and large consumer

market with a youthful aspirant population.

But after pulling out of the nuclear deal,

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Why Iran's hardliners won parliamentary elections | FT

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