How to get Iran's drifting economy back on track
Following Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s call for a "command headquarters" for the economy in the post-sanctions era, there is increasing debate in Iran about the need for clear guidance of the economy.
TEHRAN, Iran — Some observers in Iran believe that the national economy needs a coordinator rather than a command center to put everything in order. In other words, a group that has good relations with major market players and open ears to domestic and foreign advisers. However, given the chronic maladies the Iranian economy has been suffering from — inflation, reliance on oil sales, bureaucracy and, more significantly, institutionalized corruption — it would be simplistic to assume that the widespread conflicts of interest between rival groups can be addressed in the absence of an influential and authoritative command center.
The complicated nature of the Iranian economy might indeed have been the very motivation behind Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s call in August for the formation of a Resistance Economy Command Headquarters for the post-sanctions era. In this vein, the key questions are: Who will lead this headquarters and how will it manage to succeed?
