The state of the economy has long been a dominant factor in shaping Iran's political evolution since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution. Now, more than a year and half into Hassan Rouhani’s presidency, his government is missing billions of dollars in lost revenues as Iran’s oil-driven economy suffers from the price of crude's tumble to half its value since last June.
Rouhani swept to power in 2013 with campaign pledges to solve the Islamic Republic’s high unemployment and inflation and bring prosperity to the country. So far, some of the economic damage caused by what has largely been described as mismanagement by the previous administration as well as international sanctions has been recovered. Stabilizing the national currency and implementing conservative monetary and fiscal policies have halved the official annual inflation rate to less than 20%, down from nearly 40% during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s tenure.