Head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization says a three year suspension of the anti smuggling law would solve 90 percent of trade problems

Mohammad Ali Dehghan Dehnavi, head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization and a deputy minister of industry, mine and trade, said in remarks published on Tuesday 6 Mordad 1405 (28 July 2026) that the process of prioritising foreign currency allocation is now fully systematised and that human intervention in it has been completely removed.

He said the bulk of the difficulties facing economic operators stem not from sanctions but from domestic regulations, circulars and internal obstacles. Most approaches from the private sector over the past two years, he said, concerned halted financing, the inability to use foreign currency earned from exports, limits on currency allocation and complex administrative cycles, rather than circumventing sanctions or moving money.

Dehghan Dehnavi proposed suspending the Law on Combating the Smuggling of Goods and Currency for three years, saying that in his view roughly 90 percent of current trade problems would then be resolved. On repatriation of export earnings he said there is no disagreement over the principle, only over method, and that incentive based policies should replace deterrent approaches. He also proposed that the chambers of commerce and the private sector establish a trade guarantee fund.