Page 5 - IRANRptJul19

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) on July 2 updated the official exchange rates. Several currencies weakened against the Iranian rial (IRR). Under the changed list of official rates, the US dollar remained at IRR42,000. Iranian officials have moved away from actively using the currency in the country’s daily dealings, avoiding US sanctions.
Iran should work to eliminate the gap that currently exists between the Iranian rial (IRR) market exchange rates and official exchange rate, according to the IMF, which will help tame and control inflation and reduce pressure on the exchange rate. The IRR is around two-thirds weaker against the dollar on the unofficial market compared to where it stood before it became clear early last year that the US was switching its Iran policy back to a sanctions-led approach.
Meanwhile, Iranian lawmakers have ratified a joint free-trade agreement struck between Iran and the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on June 10. Iran sees access to Russia and the other markets in the EEU—Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—as a major move in expanding its trading area to the north, with US sanctions continuing to take chunks out of its trade with other countries. The bill allows the government to authorise trading when other representative governments that are part of the bloc clear the FTA.
2.0 Politics
2.1 Rouhani warns US to rejoin JCPOA or face increased
uranium enrichment
Signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) “must comply with the terms of the agreement to the same extent as Tehran does”, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on July 3, IRIB reported.
In a direct hit at the US, the Iranian president was suggesting a total abrogation of the JCPOA by Tehran if the US continues to renege on its end of the deal after it unilaterally pulled out in May last year.
“You need to decide whether you support the JCPOA or not. If you support it, then everyone should fulfil its provisions as much as Iran does,” Rouhani said. Stressing his point about the US reneging on its promises, "Tehran waited a whole year so that the remaining participants in the transaction fulfilled their part of the obligations,” he said.
“We have exceeded uranium reserves of 300kg and will continue [to reduce the fulfilment of our obligations] because we want to keep the nuclear deal,” he said. “Therefore, we say that as soon as the other participants start fulfilling their obligations, we will return to the uranium enrichment limit of 300 kg.
“On July 7, the level of [uranium] enrichment in Iran will not be 3.67% anymore, as we will abandon such commitment and increase it [enrichment] to any amount that we require and need,” he underlined.
The president also called on the so-called EU3 (Britain, France and Germany)
5 IRAN Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com