Economy is mired, money ballooning, Iranian says

In a bleak review, President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr says Iran's economy is in acute recession, with production falling and the money supply increasing alarmingly. A statement by the Paris-educated economist covering the past three years, including statistics after the late Shah's departure in January 1979, said Iran's gross national product declined 9 percent in 1978, 13 percent in 1979, and "not less than 10 percent" last year.

Money in circulation, meanwhile, increased from $11 billion to $20 billion, the President said. Such figures, he added, are "very alarming." But he said firmly that the budget deficit must not be met by increasing oil exports, which account for 95 percent of Iranian foreign currency revenue.