IRAN
 
As if to emphasize the economic imperative behind new Iranian President Hassan Rohani’s diplomatic olive branch to the west, the latest data from the Statistical Center of Iran show that the economy contracted by 5.4% in the year ending on 20 March 2013. This estimate is far higher than the IMF’s figure of a fall in real GDP of 1.9% in 2012 and a projection of a further contraction of 1.3% in 2013.  Reviving the economy which has suffered from sanctions and...