Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour is an economist and a managing partner at Eurasian Nexus Partners, a Vienna-based international strategic consulting firm. On Twitter: @BijanKK

Iran | Sep 16, 2023

ALM Special

Iran's economic woes persist a year on Mahsa Amini protests

Inflation and unemployment rates remain high, which could contribute to a renewed burst of demonstrations.

A man browses a phone while sitting next to a motorcycle along a street in Tehran on September 10, 2023. Iranian authorities have blocked popular social media networks, including Instagram and WhatsApp since mass protests erupted following the September 2022 death in police custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini. The restrictions come as millions of Iranians struggle to make ends meet, grappling with in an economic crisis marked by crippling Western sanctions, a galloping inflation, and sharp decli

Iran | Dec 6, 2022

Analysis

How Iran squandered social capital

While the Islamic Republic of Iran in its early days focused on lifting its people out of poverty and improving access to services, the current regime has failed to maintain this social capital.

Staff members sit under a portrait of the Islamic Republic's late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Iran | May 25, 2022

The economics of social unrest in Iran

While the protests themselves are unsurprising, given the economic crises plaguing the country, the fact that they were centered in the southwestern province of Khuzestan is significant.

Iran | Feb 3, 2022

Iran’s economic policies lacking vision

Efforts to conceive and execute a coherent economic policy were never going to be easy, but six months into the Raisi administration, the task is growing harder because of internal disagreements over both philosophy and bureaucratic turf.

Iran | Dec 3, 2021

How feasible is Raisi’s economic roadmap for Iran?

The ministry of finance's new set of economic goals and timelines outlines lofty ambitions but ignores the current limits that sanctions place on Iran's international trade.

Iran | Oct 29, 2021

Iran’s plan to get rid of the subsidized exchange rate

Iran's subsidized exchange rate has failed to prevent the downfall of the rial — and a move to do away with it could actually help the economy.

Iranian rials are displayed in Tehran on July 31, 2019.

Iran | Sep 22, 2021

Iran’s membership in Asian security body won’t solve sanctions problem

While the news that Iran will gain full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a psychological victory for the sanctions-hit country, it will take much more to achieve lasting economic impact.

A picture shows daily newspapers on sale at a kiosk in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 18, 2021. Conservative and reformist newspapers showed rare unity in welcoming results of a conference yesterday in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation endorsed Iran's future membership in the bloc.

Iran | Sep 1, 2021

Iran-Afghan trade has murky future under Taliban

While the chaos that followed the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan will present challenges to trade, resulting geopolitical shifts could provide some opportunities for Tehran.

A picture obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim on January 31, 2021, shows Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd-R) meeting with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (2nd-L) of the Taliban in Tehran.

Iran | Jun 14, 2021

Iran's presidential hopefuls promise big on economy, but can they deliver?

While candidates for the election this Friday have a long list of promises to fix the economy, inefficiencies in Iran's political structure limit the president's ability to make lasting change.

An Iranian man walks by posters of presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi outside a campaign office in Tehran on June 7, 2021.

Iran | Apr 29, 2021

As Iran looks to boost production, major political barriers remain

Iran’s leaders have put a renewed focus on increasing domestic production, yet to achieve this goal there must be political stability and sincere efforts to push back on corruption.

Bijan Khajehpour

Iran's economic woes persist a year on Mahsa Amini protests

How Iran squandered social capital

The economics of social unrest in Iran

Iran’s economic policies lacking vision

How feasible is Raisi’s economic roadmap for Iran?

Iran’s plan to get rid of the subsidized exchange rate

Iran’s membership in Asian security body won’t solve sanctions problem

Iran-Afghan trade has murky future under Taliban

Iran's presidential hopefuls promise big on economy, but can they deliver?

As Iran looks to boost production, major political barriers remain

Podcasts

Will Armenia’s land border with Iran be Azerbaijan’s next target after Nagorno-Karabakh, asks analyst Benjamin Poghosyan

Bijan Khajehpour

Iran's economic woes persist a year on Mahsa Amini protests

How Iran squandered social capital

The economics of social unrest in Iran

Iran’s economic policies lacking vision

How feasible is Raisi’s economic roadmap for Iran?

Iran’s plan to get rid of the subsidized exchange rate

Iran’s membership in Asian security body won’t solve sanctions problem

Iran-Afghan trade has murky future under Taliban

Iran's presidential hopefuls promise big on economy, but can they deliver?

As Iran looks to boost production, major political barriers remain

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Podcasts

Will Armenia’s land border with Iran be Azerbaijan’s next target after Nagorno-Karabakh, asks analyst Benjamin Poghosyan