Iran’s free trade zone project was intended to create jobs, boost investment, and integrate Iran’s economy. Instead, poor infrastructure and corrupt officials turned the zones into monopolized markets that do more harm than good.
-Analysis-
LONDON "We re at the end of our rope," is a phrase you may hear these days among lower-income Iranians struggling to survive in a country heaving under economic sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic. It s also a statement recently issued by a national pensioners association, which has .
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Iran made mask-wearing mandatory in public in Tehran on Saturday with violations punishable by fines, President Hassan Rouhani said, as a third wave of coronavirus infections sweeps across the country.
FILE PHOTO: A nurse wearing a protective suit and mask checks the files at Hazrate Ali Asghar Hospital amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran September 27, 2020. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
The daily death toll from COVID-19 peaked at 239 this week in Iran, the worst hit country in the Middle East.
On Saturday, the health ministry reported 195 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 28,293. There were 3,875 new cases, ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV.
Wait and see no longer an option for investment in Iran Tuesday, 23 February 2021 12:02 PM
[ Last Update: Saturday, 27 February 2021 10:16 AM ] Swiss companies have had a long history of trade with Iran.
Several Swiss companies are willing to invest in Iran despite sanctions, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Tehran Markus Leitner says, signaling how impatient international companies are to return to business with the resource-rich country.
Drugmakers Novartis and Roche, food company Nestle, agricultural chemical maker Syngenta and adhesive maker H. B. Fuller Europe have demanded that Iran remove customs and other trade barriers for their presence in the Iranian market, Leitner said.