'We Have Fallen Into A Trap'
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said
today in Tehran that Iran has become addicted to selling crude oil and the time
has come that the country voluntarily shut down some of its oil wells.
“Generating wealth through selling minerals like crude
oil does not equate to (economic) development and growth. We are making fool of ourselves. We have fallen into a trap. We should confess and accept that this
is a trap for our nation,” Ayatollah Khamenei said (IRNA, 29 July).
Ayatollah Khamenei’s pronouncements on the evils of
an economy based on selling crude oil and the need to reduce the production come
only after the recent sanctions against the country has cut the export of
Iranian crude by half. The ayatollah did not explain why for the past 23
years when he has been the undisputed supreme leader of the country he did change the policies he railed against today. Interesting times it must be!
Khamenei knows that the oil wells have to be shut down anyway because the country hasn't the capacity to store the crude oil and has to store the oil in ships.
ReplyDeleteThese wells if not maintained will be closed up and are not taps you can just turn on and off.It will cost billions to reinstate the oil wells after closer.
Oil is blood and without blood the country or more accurately the regime won't survive for long.
Actually, for years now an element of Iran's justification for its nuclear power program has been to cite its dependence on the global oil industry. So while Khamenei's recent remarks are perhaps more explicit than before, it is a stretch to claim his "pronouncements on the evils" come only after the recent sanctions.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon who send his comments minutes ago but we could not publish it, not because s/he disagreed strongly with the last paragraph on Khamenei, but because the use a language not allowed in civilized debate. But this is my answer and I hope s/he reads it:
ReplyDeleteLet me first say that there nothing wrong about self criticism and changing one’s stands on issues, those are sign of maturity of intellect. My problem with the ayatollah’s pronouncements is they are not believable or honest. If he really meant what he said today, he had 23 years to do something about it. Why should he wait until the sanctions cut Iran’s exports by half, and as a result forcing the country to cut 1 million barrels a day in production if the sanctions continue? If he had said these things before the oil sanctions, I would have congratulate him for a courageous and correct stand.
Once again, the Iranian government blames the West for their level ignorance.
ReplyDeleteMr.Uskowi, well said. Khamenei's announcement comes after the sanctions and not before. This announcement indicates to me that, the sanctions are definitely taking full effect.
Z
If supplying Iraq with chemical weapons and arms to use against Iran didn't overthrow the regime, I doubt an oil embargo will . . .
ReplyDeletethe trap we have fallen into is called islamic republic; what khamanei does not understand is that you can not have an economy and antogonize everyone inside and outside of Iran at the same time; he himself is the problem - and not the solution
ReplyDeleteHa Ha Ha Ha!!
ReplyDeleteDesperate lies!
I mean, be honest with yourselves. Today Iran exports 40 billion of non-oil goods, what is that? At least it is diversification. Intellectual and fair people do not hate for the sake of hating, but they also recognise achievements of their enemies.
ReplyDeleteBesides, changing the structure of the economy is not a dinner party, it takes years. And in Iran's case, faced with vindictive sanctions, it is even harder. I think Iran has done very well under the circumstances. Even India would have collapsed faced with similar circumstances.
Anon 10:46 AM
ReplyDelete80 PER CENT of Iran's export is OIL.
You give me a good example what those 40 per cent of non oil exports are?
Khamenei is a bad liar,who is covering up the regimes failures in economics and internal as well as international politics.
Iran's oil minister arrived in Ankara today to persuade Turkey to resume the purchase of Iranian oil. Apparently ministry of oil is not in sync yet with the Leader's comments on selling crude oil.
ReplyDeleteAnon 10;46------
ReplyDelete"I think Iran has done very well under the circumstances. Even India would have collapsed faced with similar circumstances."
the circumstances are that Iran has done very poorly to bring this upon the country....and entirely gratuitously.
iran not not done well at all... is can expect that things are just starting to go bad...six months from now it's going to look much worse.
and nonsense about how India would be in trouble in similar circumstance is rather silly in that it overlooks the simple fact that the leaders of India's government aren't anywhere near to as self-absorbed and incompetent as to bring India to such a debacle.