Iran's economy is showing signs of foundering just as the country prepares to inaugurate its first new president in eight years, with Western sanctions cutting ever deeper into the Islamic republic's financial lifelines and increasing pressure for a nuclear deal with the West.
New data show accelerated financial hemorrhaging across multiple sectors, from plummeting hard-currency reserves to steadily falling oil exports, Iran's main source of foreign cash. U.S. officials and analysts say the tide of bad news will complicate the task awaiting Hasan Rouhani, the incoming president, but it could also increase Iran's willingness to accept limits that will preclude it from developing nuclear weapons.
Although many Iran experts believe that the chances for a bargain remain small, recent warnings about the economy from within the regime suggest that Iran's leaders may be looking for a way out, analysts say.
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