Seyyed Ehsan Khandouzi made the statement during his first press conference in the Persian New Year (starting March 20) in a reaction to “baseless claims” that the country’s economy grew thanks to jump in oil prices.

Iran’s economy expanded 12.6 percent on aggregate during the first two years of the term of the 13th administration, which took office in August 2021, said the official, adding the figure excluding oil stood at 10.4 percent over the two-year period while it was 8.5 percent during the four years of the 12th administration’s term.

The economy minister said foreign investment in the previous Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2023-March 19, 2024) was higher than the total amount registered in the past 16 years.

He said the 5.5-billion-dollar foreign investment in 318 projects – the industrial sector (74 percent), the agricultural sector (10 percent), the service sector (7.5 percent), the oil sector (1.5 percent), and the tourism and construction sectors (the rest) – started last year, pointing to China, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the main investors.

The government plans to offer incentives this year to encourage domestic and foreign investors, Khandouzi concluded.