Iran parliament rejects govt budget bill amid stalemate

By Syed Zafar Mehdi
TEHRAN (AA) – Iran’s parliament on Tuesday rejected a budget bill proposed by the government of President Hassan Rouhani.

The parliament, dominated by conservatives who are politically opposed to the Rouhani-led government, have termed the proposed budget "unrealistic" with heavy dependence on oil revenue.

The bill was submitted to parliament in December, but lawmakers called for drastic amendments in the draft, something which the government has so far resisted.

The 24.357 quadrillion rials ($580 billion) budget marks 20 percent increase from the current budget, with over 23 percent income projected from oil sales.

The government plans to sell 2.3 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the next fiscal year, buoyed up by political transition in the US and the possibility of the revival of 2015 nuclear accord.

Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, however, deemed petrodollars as “unreliable source of revenue”, in line with the parliament’s strategy to reduce overwhelming dependence on oil revenue.

Rouhani, for his part, has argued that the proposed budget aims to “manage the country in the time of economic war”, warning that changes in the draft could “damage people’s livelihood and development of the country”.

Pertinently, Rouhani’s moderate government has been at loggerheads with the conservatives-controlled parliament over a number of issues, including the strategy to counter US sanctions.

The budget dispute comes months before Iran goes to polls to choose a new president.