International Monetary Fund Director of Middle East and Central Asia programs Masood Ahmed said Iran’s economy is outperforming its peers. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI WASHINGTON, April 18 (UPI) — The Iranian economy is outperforming the region as a whole mainly because of higher oil production and the lifting of sanctions, the IMF said. In transcripts published Sunday, Masood Ahmed, the director of Middle East and Central Asia programs at the International Monetary Fund, said the Iranian economy is expected to grow by about 4 percent this year. That expansion should help lift the net growth for oil exporting nations by about 2 to 3 percent, he said from Washington. “This is mainly due to the increased growth in Iran, because of the effect of lifting sanctions and the higher oil production that comes from it,” he said in his remarks. “In Iran this year, we are expecting an […]