There are two economic recovery paths on the table for Iran, the $300 billion economic rehabilitation fund provided for in paragraph 6 of the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, or developing “sustainable economic cooperation” with China.
The Middle East Spectator, an Iranian individual with a wide following on Telegram and close contacts within elements of the Islamic Revolution, sees no good in the $300 billion fund supposedly intended to help the recovery of Iran’s economy. “First of all, this reconstruction fund won’t be supplied to Iran directly by giving money. It’s an ‘investment program’, and it’s not government-funded. In other words, private companies will invest in Iran’s economy to participate in reconstruction, rebuild, and take part in Iran’s industry,” he said in a critique of the MOU posted yesterday.
“It’s very doubtful that private companies would even want to invest in Iran, a country with quite a bad and corrupt economy (unfortunately). Even if they do invest, Iran doesn’t control where the money goes. This creates two problems. On the one hand, Arab / Western companies will hold influence over Iran because of their investments in rebuilding projects. This increases the risk of economic coercion and even espionage activities.
“On the other hand, these companies definitely won’t engage in any projects that involve the IRGC, which is a big problem. The IRGC plays a very important part in Iran’s building sector. If money won’t flow into those projects, rebuilding won’t be truly and properly done—it will be extremely limited and on the enemy’s terms.”
