A letter to President Hassan Rouhani, signed by the ministers of economy, industry, labor and defense, has openly censured “the discord within the policymaking government bodies” and called for a prompt decision to address problems plaguing the capital market.
“The prevailing recession in the capital market could snowball into a crisis if we fail to address it soon,” the unprecedented letter said. The capital market has been on the decline since January 2014 due to global downsides, including the plunge in oil and commodity prices and sanctions as well as other questionable decisions. All these have led to a 42% decline in the value of the capital market, the ministers recalled.
“Today the market is grappling with ambiguities despite the historic achievement by the diplomatic apparatus,” wrote, referring to the July 14 nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers, which should put an end to the economic sanctions in exchange for Iran’s concessions in its nuclear energy program.
“Based on budgetary forecasts of companies listed on the stock market and the sober realities of the market’s functioning industries, there is the fear that the current recession would degenerate into a crisis, which would be a recipe for the people’s distrust in the government,” the letter warned.
It is worth noting that the letter was written in the second-half of the Iranian month of Shahrivar (August 23-September 22). It was not clear whether or not the president or his senior aides had responded to the open criticisms from the four key ministers.
