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Iran, Cut Off from Vital Cash Reserves, Is Approaching Economic Peril, U.S. Says
(Wall Street Journal) Ian Talley - U.S. officials cite new intelligence suggesting Tehran's finances are more dire than previously thought and are bringing it closer to a financial crisis. According to the new intelligence, the government is scraping the barrel on foreign-exchange reserves. Combined with the oil drop-off and a widening trade deficit, Iran is facing even greater economic duress than in 2013, when the government was pressured into starting nuclear negotiations with global powers, U.S. officials say. Iran's currency reserves are estimated by the IMF to be at $86 billion currently, or 20% below the level in 2013. But the situation likely is more challenging. Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, said Tehran has access to only 10% of those cash reserves, as sanctions against the financial sector prevent the government from tapping them.