To bundle this up and be understandable...around 10 to 15 years ago...Iranian businessmen started to trade currency for dollars, Euro, and UAE Dirham. Then they’d shift the money around to countries outside of Iran. Trust in Iran banks and economic policy was crap.
Years pass, and the Iran banks have less and less capital, and the Iranian currency is worthless (even the public comments on this). So even the smaller business guys got into this habit.
You go and talk about a jobs-situation, and it’s dismal. You talk about a public works project...with what money?
Some bought gold in Dubai, or condos, or just lumped it into international schemes. So if you needed bank loans in Iran, even for a house, it became impossible to arrange.
The open oil market idea? Well, prices dropped, and that strategy didn’t go anywhere. The Covid-19 crisis? Simply icing on the cake.
The mullahs are running a stagnant economy, with zero hope for bank loans, and marginal views of the future for the general public. If you had to pick an opportune time for a military coup, it’s the best time since 1979.
Looks like Israel will get a respite. Hamas not so much. Hopefully regime change in Iran will return it to a secular society.
Here’s hoping the Navy seizes Iranian tankers.
Beyond the current economic crises of the pandemic and collapse of oil revenue, the Iranian economy suffers from extensive institutional corruption and inefficiency.
The mullahs and Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran) have muscled the lion’s share of the economy’s assets and wealth into their control; rather than the control of those who are successful at running businesses and investments. Their economic decisions are largely driven by corrupt and political considerations, more than sound business or economic considerations.
So-called religious charities (Bonyads) are in practice just fronts for central control over a huge chunk of the economy, to benefit the political power (and personal wealth) of a small group of regime elites. They waste much of the potential for growth in the Iranian economy, even during good times.