THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ECONOMY OF IRAN UNDER SANCTIONS

The article provides an attempt at complex analysis of the development of Iran's economy under the sanctions imposed by the USA and other countries. Some background issues in the development of the modern Iranian regime have been considered. The role of the Iranian Revolution in the relations between Iran and the Western world has been analyzed. A brief historic overview of anti-Iranian sanctions has been given. The Iran hostage crisis in 1979 has been mentioned among the first events that lead to sanctions. According to the 1981 Algiers Accords, the USA promised to remove the freeze on Iranian assets and trade sanctions on Iran. Special attention has been paid to the nuclear program of Iran. The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant has been considered as a successful example of Iran's nuclear program development. The point of view of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran in 2005-2013, as well as opinions of other Iranian officials about nuclear energy have been considered. Also, the attitude of American officials to Iran (e.g. inclusion of Iran to the list of rogue states) has been considered. Iran is one of the few countries in the world that are able to construct nuclear weapons. So, the Western countries including the USA are trying to prevent Iran from achieving this, even though Iranian officials deny any military use of nuclear energy. The importance of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed in 2015 has been underlined. The sceptical attitude of the President of the USA Donald Trump (2017-2021) to CLARIFY Iran's professions of peace OR plans for peaceful engagement with Iran? has been noted. The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act has been given as an example of anti-Iranian policy. The cases of attacks on tankers of Iran and other countries in the recent years have been mentioned. The example of the Shetab electronic banking clearance and automated payments system used in Iran and other countries is noted. It is mentioned that Iran's automotive industry is comparatively successful. It is proved that the country's economy has in general grown accustomed to the international sanctions. The importance of Iran's political and economic cooperation with Russia, Syria, North Korea and other countries has been underlined. All of these countries are ruled by extremely authoritarian regimes. Attention is paid to the comparatively closed economic system of Iran that makes its complex study more difficult than it would otherwise be. The article has been written with the use of different scientific methods and the most up-to-date sources. It is of interest for researchers, students and other people who are interested in international economic relations.