Inflation in Iran more than doubled over the past decade: report
An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on February 3, 2012. President Barack Obama signed an executive order placing sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank on February 6, 2012. AFP PHOTO/ ALI AL-SAADI
Inflation in Iran more than doubled in the past 10 years, going from 13.9 percent to 28.6 percent, according to a report from the Iranian Statistics Center cited by the semi-official Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA).
The center said food prices had gone up sevenfold over the past decade, reported ISNA.
Economic hardship has increased in Iran in recent years due to international sanctions meant to discourage the nation's controversial nuclear program.
Western nations fear Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
Economic issues are also coming to the fore in the months leading up to Iran's June presidential vote.