Page 5 - IRANRptSep21

pools, amusement parks and exhibition centres. The Iranian Chamber of Guilds estimated last week that Iran has lost as much as $10.9bn in income since the start of the pandemic early last year.
On the political front, France, Germany and the UK expressed grave concern on August 19 about a report from the UN atomic energy watchdog that concluded Iran has accelerated its enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade. The US and its European allies have said Iran's further moves in breach of the nuclear deal threaten the currently stalled talks on reviving the deal.
The sixth round of indirect talks in Vienna came to a halt prior to the June presidential election in Iran, which saw hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi voted in to succeed moderate politician Hassan Rouhani as president. Raisi has said his administration is committed to proceeding with the attempt at re-establishing the JCPOA.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on August 16 that the United States' "military failure" in Afghanistan presented a chance to create a lasting peace in the country. Tehran’s standpoint on Afghanistan is that the country requires an inclusive Afghan government that would embrace all ethnic groups and sects.
Looking ahead, the Institute of International Finance (IFF) forecast that should the signatories to the original JCPOA manage to agree a comprehensive new nuclear agreement that moves beyond the 2015 terms, Iran would see GDP expand by 4.3% this year and by 5.9% and 5.8% in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
If Tehran and the major powers fail to strike any agreement to revive the JCPOA, unemployment in Iran would likely remain in double digits and there would be subued economic growth of 1.8% this year, the IIF estimated.
5 IRAN Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com