Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran is in anticipation of receiving its frozen assets as the international sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic are believed to be removed soon.

The country expects the nuclear deal, aka the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached with world powers to be implemented in the coming weeks, enabling the country to trade through international financial systems, receive its frozen assets, and resume oil trade on international markets.

Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Valiollah Seif has said Iran has $30 billion of frozen assets outside the country that will be unblocked next week immediately after the removal of anti-Iran sanctions following the implementation of the nuke deal, Iranian media reported.

There have been voiced conflicting statements about the total volume of these funds ever since the historic nuclear deal with the West was announced on July 14, 2015. Estimates range anywhere from $20 billion to $180 billion.

U.S. President Barack Obama initially offered an estimate of approximately $100 billion.

CBI’s deputy director for currency management, Gholamali Kamyab estimated the total value of Iran’s foreign assets that have been blocked as a result of recent sanctions at $89.6 billion, excluding those in the U.S. whose status won’t change as a result of the agreement.

Seif further said that unblocking Iran's frozen assets and facilitating interactions with the world will improve the situation for Iran's banking system and show its effects on the Iranian economy.

He added that the unfrozen assets will be handed over to the CBI immediately after the implementation of Iran nuclear deal.

Sanctions have paralyzed Iran's economy and hindered the flow of huge wealth that the country could obtain from its oil and gas exports. In 2013, Iranian GDP shrank 5 percent, while unemployment, as Iranian media reported, rose to about 40 percent. A U.S. Congressional study indicated that the Iranian economy is 20 percent smaller today than it would have been without sanctions.

The lifting of financial and economic sanctions will bring huge investments to the country, and automatically fuel recovery and growth.

However, experts warn that an incorrect usage of the blocked assets will have negative effects on the country’s economy.

They believe that the sudden flow of incomes to the country as a result of the sanctions removal could lead to economic problems, if not realized under proper control. Experts say the main point is to treat the received assets as capital and use it for long term investment and not for current expenditures.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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