Iran has considerable gold, forex reserves; snapback insignificant: Expert
Iran has considerable gold and foreign currency reserves, which it can rely on in case of any emergency, according to an expert who believes that a return of United Nations sanctions under the so-called snapback mechanism would fail to disrupt the country’s economic stability.
Hossein Mehri said on Wednesday that Iran’s decision to import gold in huge volumes in the calendar year to late March made it more immune to the impacts of foreign economic pressure.
“The volume of gold imported into the country last (calendar) year was unprecedented in the past decades,” Mehri told the Fars news agency.
Iran imported around 100 metric tons of gold worth $8 billion in the calendar year 1403, according to the country’s customs figures. That comes as the value of the imported shipments has risen to nearly $10 billion in light of the recent surge in international gold prices.
The country has cut its tariffs on gold imports to zero to boost its gold reserves and to facilitate the return of funds held in other countries because of US sanctions.
Iranian central bank governor Mohammad Reza Farzin said in March that Iran was among the top five gold-buying countries of the world as he insisted that the lender had converted some 20% of its reserves to gold.
Mehri said that the growing gold reserves have increased Iran’s confidence in dealing with emergency scenarios, including with ongoing threats by European parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that they would trigger a clause in the agreement that allows for a snapback of the UN sanctions.
“Even if this mechanism is activated, it wouldn’t mean a collapse of the country’s economy,” he said.
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