Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Iran's president says his country needs billions in foreign investment
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in a live televised interview by state TV, at his office in Tehran, Iran, August 31, 2024

IRAN’S president said on Saturday that his country needs the equivalent of £76 billion in foreign investment to achieve an annual target of 8 per cent economic growth, up from the current rate of 4 per cent.

The remarks by Masoud Pezeshkian, who was elected in July, came in his first live televised interview by state TV.

President Pezeshkian said that Iran needs up to £190bn to reach its goal but more than half is available from domestic resources. Experts say growth in GDP of 8 per cent would reduce double-digit inflation and unemployment rates.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
An excavator removes rubble at the site of a strike that, according to a security official at the scene, destroyed half of the Khorasaniha Synagogue and nearby residential buildings in Tehran, Iran, April 7, 2026
Features / 8 April 2026
8 April 2026

With attacks on industry, healthcare and education intensifying, JAMSHID AHMADI warns of a deliberate drive to cripple Iran and calls for urgent global action

Shops are closed during protests in Tehran's centuries-old main bazaar, Iran, January 6, 2026
Features / 19 January 2026
19 January 2026

Trump threatens war and punitive tariffs to recapture Iranian resources – just as in 1953, when the CIA overthrew Mossadegh and US corporations immediately seized 40% of the oil, says SEVIM DAGDELEN

A protester against the Iran regime
Middle East / 17 January 2026
17 January 2026

MOHAMMAD OMIDVAR, a senior figure in the Tudeh Party of Iran, tells the Morning Star that mass protests are rooted in poverty, corruption and neoliberal rule and warns against monarchist revival and US-engineered regime change

A university student attends a protest inside Tehran University after a smoke grenade was thrown by anti-riot police, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2017
Workers' Rights / 29 May 2025
29 May 2025