sanctions have more than halved Iran’s oil sales, from 2.4 million barrels a day in 2011 to less than 1 million now, and inflation has spiked; the currency, the rial, has fallen by half. It was the danger of falling even deeper into this economic abyss, possibly threatening their hold on power, that prompted Iran’s leaders to mend ties not only with the West but with their own people, who desperately want more personal freedoms, analysts say. “We are now at a unique moment in the Islamic republic’s history,” said Farshad Ghorbanpour, a political analyst close to Mr. Rouhani. “Economic reasons are now justifying political reasons to talk to the U.S.”
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 14:46:59 +0000
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