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Cheaper Oil Won't Make Iran Bend

(Daily Star-Lebanon) Gareth Smyth - Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, a professor of economics at Virginia Tech, argues that falling oil prices will not affect Iran's negotiating position. He points out that sanctions have made the government less dependent on oil income, which he says accounts for under half of its revenue today compared to around two-thirds in 2011-2012. And with subsidies on domestic energy sales already being reduced by the Rouhani administration, the state can generate higher revenue by increasing prices, while the poorest are to some extent insulated by the cash payments replacing subsidies. The writer was chief Iran correspondent of The Financial Times in 2003-2007.
2014-12-08 00:00:00
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