TEHRAN: Islamic Republic will experience a new series of hardships under the recently imposed US sanctions, Canadian political analyst Shahir Shahidsaless told Trend. He noted that many companies might be affected due to the fact that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) was chosen as the main target of the sanctions. “Given the major role that the IRGC plays in Iran’s economy, including in the sectors such as oil and gas, power generation, shipping, and telecommunication, many key companies and organizations may become subject to the sanctions,” Shahidsaless said.
The expert underlined that losses may be significant especially for the petrochemical sector. “For instance one of the companies owned by the IRGC is Khatam al-Anbia, a construction company primarily involved in gas and oil mega projects. The company boasts 50,000 employees and an estimated annual turnover of $12 billion. The IRGC and its subsidiaries also have large stakes in three petrochemical complexes,” he said. Depending on the extent of those sanctions, Iran’s economy could experience a new wave of hardships since the significant American sanctions were suspended under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, according to the expert. The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to slap new sanctions on Iran, Russia and North Korea but the bill in order to become a law needs to be signed by President Donald Trump.
