Iran’s Civil Defense Head Says Privacy-Focused Cryptos Can Help Bypass International Sanctions

Iranian General Says Privacy-Focused Cryptos Can Help Bypass International Sanctions

There are different virtual currencies in the matter. Some of them focus on speed, while others on building blockchain networks. However, there are other virtual currencies that focus on privacy and that allow users to keep their identities and transaction information private.

This is why an Iranian general suggested that the country could start to use virtual currencies and evade international sanctions. In the past, Iran was thinking about issuing its own cryptocurrency, but it seems that the country is not still decided about what to do to avoid international sanctions imposed by some countries such as the United States.

The Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, which works as the head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization, said on Monday that virtual currencies have the potential to improve Iran’s economy and bypass certain sanctions.

According to the Mehr news agency, he said that during a speech at the state-owned TV station.

About it, he said:

“Cryptocurrencies can help bypass certain sanctions through untraceable banking operations.”

In this way, and by using cryptocurrencies, Iran aims at reducing its dependence on the U.S. dollar for international payments and transactions. U.S. President Donald Trump said that the country will be imposing sanctions to the Iranian regime.

The Iranian official explained that the problem for the Iranian people and the country is the US dollar. The Swift system can be controlled by the U.S at any moment. This is why Iran wants to reduce its dependency on the dollar and start using another currency. Between 2012 and 2016, Iran experienced a banking blackout from the SWIFT network.

According to Iran’s Parliamentary Commission of Economic Affairs chief, Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi said that they will be the first country using virtual currencies in order to exchange them for goods.

Back in February, Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi said that they were analyzing the possibility to implement a national cryptocurrency.

در جلسه‌ای که با هیئت مدیره پست بانک در خصوص ارزهای دیجیتال مبتنی بر زنجیره بلوکی داشتم، مقرر شد این بانک اقدامات لازم برای پیاده سازی آزمایشی اولین ارز دیجیتالی کشور را با استفاده از ظرفیت نخبگان کشور به عمل آورد. مدل آزمایشی برای بررسی و تایید به نظام بانکی کشور ارائه خواهد شد.

— MJ Azari Jahromi (@azarijahromi) February 21, 2018

This is not the first time that a country is trying to create a national cryptocurrency. Venezuela, for example, has created the so-called Petro allowing the country to process payments. The Petro is backed by natural resources in the country such as oil, diamonds and gold. Additionally, the Petro lets Venezuela avoid sanctions imposed by different countries, including the United States.