Iran plans to start offering oil-backed securities to its citizens, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, as part of the government’s efforts to boost state coffers hit by U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus crisis. Iran’s economy, further strained by low oil prices, has been suffering since 2018 when the United States exited Tehran’s nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed sanctions, strangling Iran’s oil trade. “Gold and the dollar are not the places to be investing. But the stock market and oil are,” Rouhani said in a televised cabinet meeting. “The government is doing everything to control liquidity and counter oil sanctions … the plan will help the economy and secure revenues for our people.” Iran’s clerical rulers face increasing economic pressure and want to prevent a revival of protests in past years that started over economic issues but turned political. Iranian media reported that the plan […]