BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. Iran's imports of gold bars increased six times in value and 4.7 times in weight during 5 months of the current Iranian year (from March 20 through August 21, 2024) compared to the same period last year (from March 21 through August 22, 2023), Iran's Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Director General of Iran's Customs Administration Mohammad Rezvanifar said, Trend reports.
According to him, imports of gold bars to Iran for five months amounted to 30.6 tons worth $1.6 billion.
Rezvanifar noted that during the same period last year, the country imported 4.23 tons of gold bars worth $274 million.
The official stated that a whopping 96 percent of the gold bars made their way into the country through the Imam Khomeini International Airport customs office.
On the flip side, the US has thrown a wrench in Iran's plans with their new sanctions, making it as tough as nails for foreign currency (US dollars) to make its way into the country. Iran prefers to think outside the box to dodge sanctions. Therefore, the Iranian government has paved the way for non-oil exporters to bring home the bacon by allowing them to bring in gold bars instead of foreign currency.
To note, the US dropped the hammer and slapped Iran with new sanctions in November 2018. Over the past period, more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals exporting Iranian oil have bitten the dust due to sanctions. The sanctions put Iran's assets on ice in foreign countries.
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