�The World Bank has expected that Iran's economy to continue to grow in 2023 despite cruel sanctions imposed on the country by Washington.






According to�a World Bank report on the economic situation in the Middle East released earlier this week,�Iran�s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to increase by 2% this year.

�Because of intensifying economic sanctions, Iran�s growth will likely remain at low levels. As oil prices decline, Iran�s GDP is forecast to grow 2.0 percent in 2023,� said the report.

The World Bank estimated that Iran�s economy had expanded by 2.7% last year while predicting that the average growth for developing oil exporters in the Middle East will be around 2.4% in 2024.

However, the report said that the exchange-rate-adjusted inflation rate for Iran will continue to be at relatively high levels in 2023.

Meanwhile, figures by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) showed the country�s economy grew by 5.3% year on year in the three calendar months to December 21, 2022.

BI�s deputy governor for economic affairs Peyman Ghorbani said on Monday that the economic growth reported by the bank for the December quarter was an increase of 0.5% compared to the year-on-year growth rate reported in the same quarter in 2021.

Ghorbani told the Iranian state TV that the non-oil sector of Iran�s economy had also expanded by 4.5% in the three months to late December last year.

The quarterly figures marked the highest increase in Iran�s gross domestic product (GDP) in the calendar year starting late March 2022, he said, adding that the country had experienced growth rates of 2.2% and 3.6% in quarters to late June and late September, respectively.

The official said Iran�s oil sector was the best performer of the Iranian economy in the December quarter with a GDP expansion of 15.4%, adding that agriculture grew by 1.1% over the period, the lowest among Iranian economic sectors.