Delayed by more than one year, Iranian authorities have unveiled the general outline of what is referred to as the 7^th Five-Year Development Plan (7FYP). In theory, the document will guide the annual budgets and development policies through 2028.

As one of the key strategic documents produced by Iranian governments, analysts always pay extensive attention to the contents of five-year plans (FYP). However, experience has shown that such strategic documents can easily be neglected, especially as the country has been in crisis mode in recent years given high inflation and economic stagnation. In this context, experts have urged the government to “formulate a crisis management plan along the FYP to reduce the damage caused by the development plan.”

Lags amid power transition

The previous FYP would have officially ended on Mar. 20, 2021, but it was extended due to the change of government that took place in Aug. 2021. It has taken the incumbent Ebrahim Raisi administration more than 18 months to finally present the main strategies that will guide the country’s economic development in the next few years.

During the presentation of the 7FYP on May 20, Vice President Davoud Manzour, who is also head of the Planning and Budget Organization, stated that the Plan “is problem [solving]-oriented and tries to...