International trade has become one of the key factors in the economic development of countries in recent years. However, in Iran, the impact of government policies on facilitating or restricting this process has always been discussed and studied. The aim of this research is to analyze and examine the effect of government exchange rate, tariff and institutional policies on Iran's foreign trade flow. This study, with a qualitative approach and based on the content analysis of domestic and international documents and studies, seeks to explain the relationship between government interventions and Iran's foreign trade performance within the theoretical framework of the political economy of trade and the theory of adaptation under sanctions. findings show that in the past four decades, Iran's trade policies have been a combination of facilitating and restricting measure otherrrency fluctuations, a multiple rate system, unbalanced tariffs and heavy bureaucracy have weakened formal trade and paved the way for the growth of informal markets. As a result, the net effect of government trade policies has tended towards instability and reduced confidence among economic actors
The research results show that institutional weakness, lack of policy coordination, and the government’s reactive approach are the most important structural obstacles to sustainable trade development in Iran. Finally, the research suggests that by creating stability in the currency system, coordinating industrial and trade policies, expanding regional agreements, and promoting institutional transparency, the government can steer path of international trade from a state of resistance and emergency to one of competitiveness and sustainability.