Western countries would be gravely mistaken if they suppose they can win more concessions out of Iran in talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal by imposing political pressure and running psychological and media campaigns, a senior Iranian diplomat said.
“We advise the other sides to avoid politicization, adopt a constructive and realistic approach and make the required political decisions for reaching and announcing an agreement,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said at a regular press briefing on Monday, ISNA reported.
He stressed that Iran is “completely ready” to conclude the negotiations based on the draft that was prepared after months of hard and intensive discussions and with due observance of its red lines.
“But this readiness will not be permanent and the ball is now in the western side’s court,” he said.
National
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01/03/2023
Energy
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01/03/2023Zagros Petrochemical Company and China's Dalian Petrochemical Company have signed a contract on Sunday, based on which the latter will transfer knowhow to build a plant for the conversion of methanol to synthetic ethanol to the Iranian company, the managing director of Zagros Petrochemical Company said.
“The first methanol-to-synthetic ethanol plant in Iran with a production capacity of 300,000 tons will be constructed within 36 months,” Matin Didari was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news service.
With this initiative, Zagros Petrochemical Company is taking a major step to complete the value chain of methanol to help reduce the sale of raw materials and increase its revenues, he added. -
01/03/2023The saline wastewater treatment plant of Ilam Petrochemical Complex in Ilam Province, which uses the zero-liquid discharge system, was launched on Sunday.
“The most advanced chemical wastewater treatment plant in the country has been constructed by domestic experts to help preserve the environment and recover 100% of the waste produced from petrochemical processes in Ilam Petrochemical Company,” the managing director of the company said at the inauguration ceremony.
“Completed in 26 months at a cost of $6.8 million, the plant has a capacity to treat 35.5 cubic meters of wastewater per hour,” Seyyed Gholamhassan Garshasbi was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news service. -
01/03/2023Although gasoline production has increased by 6.5% since March 2022, consumption has risen by 3.5 times, the head of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, said.
“Close to 116 million liters of gasoline were burnt on Dec. 24, which was unprecedented for the cold season as such a massive consumption is usually witnessed in Norouz [Iranian New Year] holidays when most Iranian families go on a trip,” ILNA quoted Ali Akbar Nejad-Ali as saying.
Average daily gasoline consumption has reached 111 million liters per day over the last two weeks, up 16% compared with the same period of a year ago, he added.
Domestic Economy
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01/03/2023The government’s recent decision to ban rice imports from India could result in a shortage of the staple grain in the domestic market, says Salar Saket, the deputy head of Rice Importers Association of Iran.
“Officials have told us that imbalance in bilateral trade is the reason behind this measure. Even if that is the case, financial restrictions caused by sanctions, as well as the fact that shipping lines do not support new routes, replacing other countries [with India] is impossible in the short run,” Saket was quoted as saying by IRNA.
According to the official, the ban had to be imposed before the domestic harvest season and the beginning of foreign purchases. -
01/03/2023We have heard and read a lot about central banks increasing interest rates in the face of inflationary episodes as a preventive policy or to contain existing inflation.
Why and how a hike in interest rates leads to a decline in inflation rate is a theoretical discussion that has a long history (perhaps more than 100 years); it has been discussed in detail in monetary economics.
This writing is not about theoretical, academic arguments. However, it is important to know that introducing the short-term interest rate in the money market is currently the most effective policy used by central banks to curtail inflation. -
01/03/2023A total of 1.25 million tons of goods worth $827 million were exported from Khorasan Razavi Province’s customs terminals during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Nov. 21), according to Javad Jafari, a local customs official.
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01/03/2023Mobarakeh Steel Company earned 1.15 quadrillion rials ($2.9 billion) in sales during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21), registering a 10% growth compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to the company’s deputy head for economic and financial affairs.
Mehdi Kuwaiti added that MSC’s sales stood at 120 trillion rials ($303.03 million) in the ninth fiscal month (Nov. 22-Dec. 21), ILNA reported.
MSC is the biggest steelmaker in Iran and the Middle East and North Africa region, accounting for about half of the country's steel production. The state-owned company is located 65 km southwest of the city of Isfahan, near the city of Mobarakeh, Isfahan Province. Commissioned after the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and operating since 1993, MSC underwent major revamping during the year 2000. It is one of the largest industrial complexes operating in Iran. -
01/03/2023A total of 9.91 million tons of livestock feed were imported into Iran during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21), registering a 26% fall compared with last year’s similar period when more than 13.37 million tons were imported, new data released by the Importers of Livestock and Poultry Feed Union of Iran show.
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01/03/2023Iran’s foreign trade, excluding crude oil exports, reached 106.79 million tons worth $78.84 billion in the current Iranian year’s first nine months (March 21-Dec. 21) to register a 12.82% decline in terms of weight, but a 9.36% rise in term of value compared with the corresponding period of last year, latest data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show.
China was the main trade partner of Iran during the period with 26.2 million tons worth $22.72 billion. It was followed by the UAE with 18.04 million tons worth $17.42 billion, Turkey with 8.37 million tons worth $8.28 billion and India with 5.16 million tons worth $3.56 billion.
Exports hit 79.94 million tons worth $36.24 billion during the period, registering a 13.38% decline in terms of weight, but a 3.24% rise in value. -
01/03/2023“Furniture, home appliances and their maintenance”, one of 12 groups of goods and services surveyed by the Statistical Center of Iran for calculating the inflation rate, registered an average annualized inflation rate of 33.6% in the ninth month of the current Iranian year (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).
The group’s month-on-month and year-on-year inflation rates were reported at 1.7% and 33.6% respectively.
The 12 groups of the basket of consumer goods and services surveyed by SCI include "food and beverages" with a coefficient of 26.64%, "tobacco" with 0.59%, "clothing and shoes" with 4.78%, “housing and utilities" with 35.5% (highest), "furniture, home appliances and their maintenance" with 3.93%, "health and treatment" with 7.14%, "transportation" with 9.41%, "communications" with 2.87%, "leisure and culture" with 1.65%, "education" with 1.86%, "hotels and restaurants" with 1.44% and "miscellaneous items and services" with 4.18%.
Business & Markets
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01/03/2023Some 50,000 transactions suspected of money laundering were detected in the banking network in the past one and a half years, a deputy economy minister said.
“During the period 1,000 cases were referred to the judiciary for in-depth review,” Hadi Khani was quoted by SHADA news website as saying.
Khani said in the past several months some people tried to disrupt the forex market and were apparently involved in money laundering using foreign currency. -
01/03/2023Some state banks have started offering higher interest rates on deposits even though the Central Bank of Iran has not yet approved the increase, media reports in Tehran said Monday.
A report by EcoIran Web TV said some state-owned banks have raised interest by up to 25%. Both state and private banks also are charging between 24%-25% on lending from 18% last week.
The Money and Credit Council (MCC), the top decision-making body of financial and monetary markets is expected to endorse the higher rates. The former CBI chief Ali Salehabadi in the final days of his office late last month had spoken about the possibility of higher rates. -
01/03/2023After recent setbacks, the Tehran Stock Exchange's main index, TEDPIX, gained 28,918.87 points or 1.85% on Monday to end at 1,593,284.96. The TSE equal-weighted index gained 1.89%.
About 12.1 billion shares worth 71.91 trillion rials ($247.98 million) changed hands for the day. Trading at TSE and over-the-counter Iran Fara Bourse starts on Saturday and ends Wednesday.
Mellat Leasing Company led the winner’s list as its shares jumped 6.73% to 4,693 rials per share.
Auto
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01/03/2023Lack of supervision over the supply of motor oil and tires, non-clearance of imported trucks, continued use of decrepit vehicles and high customs duties are the main problems facing truckers, according to the head of Iran’s National Association of Truckers.
"There is no supervision over the supply of spare parts and the price of motor oil offered to truckers in the market," Firouz Khodaei was also quoted as saying by Khabar Khodro.
The official calls for facilitating truck fleet renewal by reducing customs duty to help truckers purchase vehicles at a more affordable price.
Noting that the supply of motor oil at stable prices has become a challenging task, he said, "One of the basic problems discussed invariably in the meetings of truckers’ association is the shortage of motor oil. At the beginning of the current fiscal year [March 21], with the follow-ups of the association, some factories distributed truck motor oils at the government rate in several terminals, which has now stopped.”
