With the elections in the US over and the insults and unpleasant exchanges winding down, it is time to focus back on the serious case of Iran deconstruction that has been going on since the so called islamic revolution back in 1979.

Now, it is typical to expect that a country's leadership would want the best for that country and its people by doing everything possible to raise the standard of living and improving the economy of that country.

It is not typical, however, for a country to knowingly undermine its economy by faulty policies, sever, rampant and institutionalized corruption and incompetence. This is exactly what has been happening in Iran for the past 37 years and counting.

The snapshot graph presented here (courtesy of Fidelity Investments' 4Q2016 Market Update) shows the predicted GDP growth for the next 20 years for both emerging and developed markets. I find it disturbing and at the same time not necessarily surprising that countries like Colombia and Peru are on the list of emerging markets while no Middle Eastern countries, like our Iran, are mentioned. Further, Turkey, a country with no oil reserves and limited marketable natural resources has made the list with GDP growth of over 3%! 

With a rising population and increasing demand for all kinds of resources, Iran cannot afford to remain an adversary to the rest of the world and will need to clean up its act, set aside animosities with everybody and his brother (the West mainly) and get in the global game that is coexistence with other nations. Unfortunately, the game played by the incompetent clerical leadership in Iran and the insistence to remain a pariah state guarantees that status to remain as is for the foreseeable future.

Sad for Iran and her people, sad indeed.