Iran hardens rhetoric and improves economic contacts

By Vestnik Kavkaza

British newspaper The Guardian writes that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has already expressed criticism of the world's nuclear powers, stating that his country has no nuclear weapons and is not going to make an atomic bomb. Rouhani, in an unusually fiery speech, although avoiding direct mention of the ongoing negotiations on the nuclear issue between Iran and the West, has accused nuclear states of hypocrisy. "They tell us:" We do not want Iran to develop nuclear weapons, "and it is you who invented the atomic bomb," - said Wednesday Rouhani. Then he turned to Israel, a country that has never acknowledged they have   nuclear weapons, calling the country "criminal". Another stud against the United States was released by the president of Iran, he called the US health care reform untenable. In the United States, millions of people have no health insurance, while in Iran, all residents are insured.

Another article in the Guardian is about the tax system in Iran. Article " Rouhani tries to get Iranians to pay their taxes " reports that to date efforts to collect taxes by the government  of Rouhani were more effective than under the previous administration. Last year, the state received a record 95 percent of the planned fees. But the global downturn in oil prices has an impact on the country's coffers. To achieve maximum tax collection Rouhani turned his attention to the opaque conglomerates that control most of the country's economy, but legally exempt from taxation. Now Iran's tax policy is aimed in large part to raise funds from the proceeds of large and medium-sized businesses than on the income of ordinary citizens.

Iran's Fars news agency today writes about the Turkish-Iranian cooperation in an article titled "Iran, Turkey Should Boost Trade Balance to $30bln.” Bilateral trade between the two countries last year reached $ 15 billion, although it was about 23 billion dollars in 2011. This decrease is due to the sanctions, which hinder the development of economic relations. However, Iran and Turkey want to expand ties between the two countries in various areas of the economy, despite the threat of world powers. Iran is a major energy supplier in Turkey, and Ankara is investing heavily in Iran's economy. Iran is one of the major markets for Turkish products, and Turkey is a favorite vacation spot of Iranian tourists.

Turkey will also cooperate with Finland. About this writes today Turkish Daily Sabah in "Finland and Turkey agree to boost trade and investments.” The Finnish government supports Turkey in the transatlantic partnership on trade and investment (TTIP). Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekchi said that Finland is one of the biggest supporters of Turkey's EU accession process. Over the past 10 years, Turkey has attracted foreign direct investment of about a billion dollars, and the percentage of Finnish investments in Turkey is about 300 million. Even though a small devaluation of the lira, the countries  continue to cooperate and exchange rate fluctuations proves that Turkey is competitive in a foreign market. Finnish investments stimulate the economy of Turkey, and support from the Finnish government is essential when EU decides to admit Turkey, which in spite of the controversy with the European community is still hoping for a happy finale of the case.