National Development Fund Chief: Fund Has No Role in Food-Coupon Plan; $22.3 Billion in Overdue Receivables

Mehdi Ghazanfari, head of Iran's National Development Fund, said in response to rumors about the fund's involvement in the food-coupon (electronic ration) program that the fund has no responsibility or role in the matter, and that decisions on resource allocation, timing and management rest with the government, Bourse News reported on Saturday, August 8, 2026. He added that the fund only provides resources as a financial institution at the government's request, which must be repaid after a three-year grace period. Ghazanfari said the fund has collected about $2 billion annually in overdue receivables over the past five years, bringing total collections to $12.8 billion, but it still has $22.3 billion in receivables past due, of which $17 billion is owed by the National Iranian Oil Company for the years 2011 to 2021 (1390 to 1400 in the Iranian calendar). He said recovering these funds could provide the capacity to build five new refineries, five petrochemical complexes and five power plants.