TEHRAN - Iran plans to create an independent banking system dedicated to its free trade zones as part of a broader effort to overhaul the country’s economic governance, the economy minister said, adding that free zones will serve as the launchpad for structural reform.

Speaking at a meeting with business leaders in the Aras Free Zone, Economy Minister Seyed Ali Madanizadeh said the government aims to expand economic freedoms, lift restrictions and accelerate decentralization in the country’s most commercially active regions.

He said the administration has begun implementing a new transformation plan for free zones, built around decentralization and specialization of activities in each zone. The pilot phase will begin in East Azarbaijan Province, centered on the Aras Free Zone.

Madanizadeh said the government is moving to establish an independent bank dedicated to the financial needs of free zones. Aras will also be assigned a lead commercial bank to coordinate services, and steps are being taken to establish an independent chamber of commerce for the zone.

He said the government has adopted a supportive stance toward investors and producers operating in free zones, and confirmed that all ministerial directives limiting trade activity in these areas will be revoked. A new Free Zone Development Secretariat has been launched inside the Ministry of Economy, with Aras designated as its pilot site.

The minister also announced new tax policies aimed at relieving pressure on businesses, including maximum instalment options for tax payments. A unified “free-zone citizen card” will be issued for all free zone residents and operators, he added.

Other measures under review include the removal of price-setting rules in free zones. Madanizadeh said a number of restrictive regulations in the past had originated from within the ministry itself, and the government was now working to eliminate them. He urged private-sector actors to pursue their demands directly, and said a new communication channel would be established to allow businesspeople to engage with the minister’s office.

He said the government is committed to mobilizing all available tools to expand investment across the free zones, calling on companies to “step forward” as reforms advance.

EF/MA