Iran foreign debt hits three-decade low in current administration
Prior to the incumbent administration in Iran, its foreign exchange reserve had collapsed and its foreign debt had increased, but in the current administration of late President Ebrahim Raisi and then Acting President Mohammad Mokhber, the country’s foreign exchange reserve increased and its foreign debt decreased to the lowest level in three decades.
On March 19, 2021, Iran's foreign debt stood at $9.142 billion, and on June 21, 2021, it was about $8.7 billion, of which the Raisi administration succeeded in clearing nearly $4 billion of foreign debt.
Statistics from the Central Bank of Iran indicate that with the settlement of a significant amount of the country’s foreign debt by the Raisi government, Iran's foreign debt decreased to $5.142 billion in December 2023, showing the lowest figure from Iran’s foreign debt in the last three decades.
Foreign debt includes a country's debts to foreign lenders and includes loans received from foreign private banks, other governments, and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International External Fund.