March 17, 2023
Iran’s gross domestic product, as measured by purchasing power, is actually lower than it was a dozen years ago, largely because of sanctions, according to World Bank calculations. The chart shows that the economy grew substantially from the end of the war with Iraq until 2011. In 2010, the Obama Administration convinced Europe to join it in imposing harsh sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The economy then contracted by a quarter over the next five years until the signing of the nuclear deal removed many sanctions and allowed the economy to begin growing again. It continued to grow modestly even after the Trump Administration reimposed sanctions in 2018. The chart only goes through 2020, but shows Iran’s GDP, as measured by purchasing power parity, remained 10 percent below its 2011 high in 2020.