Iran Raps Global Financial Bodies for Biased Approach

TEHRAN,May 18 (FNA)- Iran slammed the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for their biased and politically-driven attitude towards Iran's economic growth.
Iran's Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini said after Tehran delayed in announcing its economic growth rate, and the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have embarked on announcing the figures on their own, instead of waiting for Iran's announcement.

"The interesting thing is that, when a country does not announce its economic growth rate, international reports leave the space (for the relevant figure) in front of its name empty, and this is what happened regarding Iran's foreign exchange reserves; however, the World Bank did not act similarly with regards to (Iran's) economic growth rate and announced the figure," the Iranian minister added.

Hosseini lambasted the political approach of the WB and IMF, and said the move by the World Bank was carried out under political pressure on its management.

"As one of the major shareholders in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Iran protests the management of these international bodies," Hosseini said.

"While we use the experience of the expert body of international organizations, we will not bow to the pressure of their management," he added.