A member of Iran’s parliament said the administration of former President Ebrahim Raisi engaged in nuclear negotiations but deliberately withheld information from the public to avoid market volatility.
“The Raisi government also negotiated, but didn’t tell the people,” said Meysam Zohourian, a member of the parliament’s Economic Commission, in remarks published Saturday. “Talks happened, but society wasn’t aware, so it didn’t become psychologically conditioned to the negotiation climate.”
Zohourian argued that the secrecy helped prevent the currency market from reacting to shifts in the diplomatic process. “Progress or failure in talks didn’t affect the exchange rate because the government didn’t socialize the negotiation process,” he said.
He added that withholding information helped manage public expectations. “People didn’t know who had come or gone, and that lack of awareness kept expectations in check.”
