Iranian MP Calls For Confidentiality Of Economic Indicators

An ultra-conservative member of Iranian parliament has called for confidentiality of economic indicators and other statistics, under claims of security risk.

In a statement, Fereydoun Abbasi expressed support for withholding economic data, including statistical information about geographical data such as crop yields, information about dams and river water levels.

Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and a member of the parliamentary energy commission, said, "Security and commercial data should not be made transparent, as enemies can exploit them to harm the country."

He claimed that revealing economic statistics could impact food security and open up vulnerabilities in economic warfare scenarios. He also said that disclosing geographical data, such as river water levels, dams, and electricity production could also be “detrimental to Iran's interests”.

His statements come following President Ebrahim Raisi decision to halt the publication of a substantial portion of economic statistics and indicators.

Internationally, indicators like inflation rates and foreign exchange reserves are generally considered non-confidential data, but Iran continues to call for non-disclosure, causing cause for suspicion from other nations.