Majid-Reza Hariri, a businessman, who recently issued further warnings about the Iranian economy and what he called the lack of oil sales, told the Iranian Labor News Agency on Friday. (ILNA) that inflation was becoming a serious threat. He argued that if the inflation rate rose above the current rate of 50-60%, it would become much more difficult to control.

In recent months, figures released by the Iranian Statistical Center show headline annual inflation of over 45%, with food prices rise by almost 70% compared to last year.

Iran has been delaying nuclear negotiations with the West since June, when it suspended multilateral negotiations and expanded its nuclear program. Further talks are scheduled for late November, but few believe there will be a quick result.

In recent weeks, many other public figures, including senior clerics, called on the government to take urgent action to contain the current economic crisis which, by some estimates, has impoverished nearly 50 percent of Iran’s population.

Hariri, who in the past, as openly as possible, called for resolving disputes between Iran and the West, reiterated that saving the economy requires special attention to improving foreign relations.

“Much of the Iranian economy depends on oil exports, and it is not possible to cure this economic dependence quickly,” Hariri said, adding that removing US sanctions should be a priority, but whatever. that Iran is prepared to do. , the final decision, or the flip side, is America. Iran cannot be the sole decision maker in lifting sanctions. The United States must agree.

The other policy should be to shield the economy, as much as possible, from the impact of sanctions, Hariri said, stressing the importance of bilateral trade with many more countries than Iran’s current seven major trading partners. .

Hariri, who generally speaks like a businessman rather than a government official, said every decision the government makes should take into account the danger of runaway inflation. “Any policy that could lead to higher inflation should be eliminated,” he said. If prices rise further, the country may face hyperinflation, which would be difficult to overcome.

He called on the government to bring in a wider range of economic experts for advice on inflation and not restrict its thinking to a single group of economists. Hariri cited the example of former finance minister Ali Tayebniya, who during the first four years of Hassan Rouhani’s presidency (2013-2017) succeeded in reducing an inflation rate from 47% to 11- 12%.

The head of the Supreme Labor Committee said on Thursday that a basket of essential supplies for a family of 3 reached 115 million rials. Although in the current exchange rate of just $ 425, the average worker in Iran receives much less than $ 200 per month.

In the midst of this crisis, President Raisi is seen as just giving orders to his aides to sort out a myriad of national and local economic and infrastructure problems. Critics, even among conservatives, say the new government has been in power for three months and should start to pull itself together.