This [economic dependence on oil] started during the Pahlavi regime. The youth who do not know what the old regime [Pahlavi] did to this country, should know that this is one of their many betrayals. They made the economy of this country dependent on oil, which cannot be changed and corrected easily. This nation must try and manage the country through export of various goods, such as fruit, minerals, industrial and agricultural products, and other services. Oil is the perpetual saving of this nation, and it remains. First of all, it is used to build lasting infrastructure and other major assets of the country. Besides, through the power of oil, the Iranian nation can show its strength on the international scene of politics. Imagine if we announce that we will not be selling oil for six months. The whole world would be affected. Every policy would be affected. Or if we decide to decrease or increase our oil exports.--This is something that could happen gradually.
March 21, 1998
In a country and economy that relies on underground resources and that is completely dependent on natural and effortless wealth, outstanding personalities are neither recognized, employed, nor needed. When we decide to dig our historical wealth out of the ground and sell it in crude form, and when we decide to manage the country like rich fellows--let's put it this way: like the rich who do not appreciate the value of money, spending it anyway they like--then outstanding personalities will neither be recognized nor needed. Besides, they will not be able to play any role.
And the result is that the fate of this country will be in the hands of those people who formulate major policies in the world of oil and underground resources. Today, the situation is like this. They may decide to reduce the price of oil. All of a sudden, you see that the price of oil has gone down by 20 dollars. For example, it was 105 dollars until yesterday, but now you have to sell it for 85 dollars[The price at that time]. These are global policies. It is clear what the future of a country that entrusts its economy to those politicians and decision-makers, who act against its benefits, will be.
The country should be managed by domestic resources. As he correctly put it, it should be managed by above-ground resources; that is to say, by our inner talents, our talented humans, and the intelligence of our youth. If this happens, no power in the world will be able to grasp the economic fate of the country, or whatever is related to the economy of the country, and to use it as its playground. Therefore, we should pursue knowledge and research. This task is a necessary one.
Our economy is based on oil. What does that mean? It means that we extract oil -- which is our permanent investment and has value added --from underground, and we sell it in the crude form so that we can use the money for the affairs of the country. There is no greater loss. An oil-based economy is like this. Well, oil can be changed into various products. I estimate -- some scientific analyses confirm my estimation -- that the value of the oil that we change into petroleum, gasoline, white oil, as well as other substances that have not been produced by humans yet can increase by hundreds of times. We are not aware of this. We extract oil from wells so that we can sell this resource and use the money for different affairs of the country.
This resource is not reproduced underground. It is among finite resources. We cannot say, "When we extract all of it, it will be produced again." When we extract it, it will finish. Oil and gas work like this. There is really nothing worse than this. This is one of the sinister legacies of the former taghuti regime. Of course, this is an easy way of earning money, and some officials of different eras have preferred to use this easy money. This is one problem.
I am saying that we should reduce our dependence on selling crude oil as much as we can. We can benefit from oil in the form of products. This has also been specified in these policies. One of the important and fundamental tasks that should be carried out is this. It requires lofty determination.
