Speaking on IRIB, Madanizadeh said Iran’s economy had faced substantial volatility over the past two years because of political, military and security developments. He said the government’s economic institutions had focused on containing the fallout from external shocks and keeping economic activity and trade moving.
The Economy Ministry, working alongside the Plan and Budget Organization and the Central Bank, had developed measures to mitigate the economic consequences of the changing environment, Madanizadeh said.
Customs Reform Emerges as Key Trade-Facilitation Measure
Madanizadeh said customs reform was among the government’s main priorities, given the ministry’s responsibilities across taxation, customs, banking, privatization and treasury management.
When he assumed office, goods could in some cases remain at customs for more than 10 months, he said. The average dwell time has since fallen to around eight days.
The government now aims to bring that figure down to below three days in the coming months, Madanizadeh said, signaling a broader push to reduce administrative bottlenecks and accelerate the movement of goods through Iran’s trade infrastructure.
The minister said Iran’s economy had nevertheless suffered damage during the recent war, including attacks on steel and petrochemical facilities. Reconstruction efforts began soon afterward, he said, while the government also sought to address shortages that emerged in domestic markets.
Madanizadeh acknowledged that the conflict had imposed economic costs and said the government could not ignore its impact on households and businesses. He pointed to inflation, pressure on the currency market, and shortages as among the consequences felt by the public.
At the same time, he said Iran had faced attempts to disrupt its financial and commercial channels for years and that economic sanctions were not a new challenge for the country.
The minister said efforts to sever Iran’s economic lifelines had been repeatedly attempted, arguing that the structure of global financial and trading networks made it difficult to isolate Iran.
He also referred to the Islamabad memorandum reached after the period of economic and military pressure, describing it as an outcome of Iran’s efforts across the military, economic and diplomatic fronts.
Madanizadeh stressed, however, that external pressure had real consequences for ordinary Iranians. He said the government understood the impact of inflation, exchange-rate pressures and shortages and was working to prevent further disruption to the country’s financial and commercial channels.
The minister also pointed to pressure on the supply of essential goods and medicines, saying the government was working to prevent disruptions to critical supplies. He said Iran did not seek war but would respond to economic or military pressure while continuing to pursue its interests through diplomacy.
Government Seeks to Channel Savings into Investment
Madanizadeh said Iran had launched a foreign exchange fund whose capacity would gradually be expanded. Companies capable of generating foreign-currency revenues would be able to access resources through the fund, he said.
He also highlighted oil certificates as a financing instrument that could allow households to invest in future oil production and direct savings toward economic development, reconstruction and modernization.
The government is also pursuing regulatory reforms aimed at reducing red tape, easing licensing procedures and removing obstacles to production and investment, Madanizadeh said.
Some cumbersome regulations were temporarily removed during the war, he said, and the government decided to retain and institutionalize those measures after they helped resolve practical economic problems.
The minister said the government’s broader approach was to turn crises into opportunities for structural reform by identifying weaknesses exposed during periods of economic stress and addressing them directly.
Facilitating business licensing, removing barriers to production and easing trade procedures are among the areas targeted by the reforms, he said.
Madanizadeh credited the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, the Plan and Budget Organization, the Central Bank and the Trade Promotion Organization with helping advance measures to facilitate trade and remove production bottlenecks.
He said the government was also considering a new trade-facilitation mechanism that, once approved, could significantly change the way commercial transactions are processed.
The minister said the government had taken further steps to remove barriers to investment, including changing the mandate of the country’s investment authority.
The former Foreign Investment Organization has been restructured as the “Iran Investment Organization,” with a broader mandate to identify and address obstacles facing domestic investors, Iranians living abroad, investors from neighboring countries and other foreign investors.
Madanizadeh said excessive and complicated regulations remained a major obstacle to investment, making projects more difficult and time-consuming to launch. The government, he said, had identified many of these barriers and was implementing measures to remove them.
The ministry has also issued licenses for investment-promotion agencies whose role will be to identify potential investors, attract capital and connect investors with specific projects.
A portfolio of investment projects has been identified, while a dedicated platform is being prepared to present those opportunities to investors. Projects will be organized by province, with feasibility studies to be made available to potential investors.
The minister also announced plans for an investment “one-stop shop” designed to reduce bureaucracy and make it easier for investors to enter the market.
Under the proposed system, once an investor selects a project, the investment organization would handle the required licensing process on the investor’s behalf, allowing the investor to concentrate on financing and implementing the project.
The government is also working on a mechanism to connect investment projects with banks and capital markets, Madanizadeh said.
Projects would be able to raise financing through bank lending or the capital market, with funding available in either rials or foreign currency. Financing instruments could include debt securities and equity issuance.
The measures form part of the government’s broader effort to strengthen investment, support production, accelerate reconstruction and make Iran’s economic system more capable of absorbing external shocks, according to the minister.