Commander Sees Sanctions New Chance to Lower Dependence to Oil Revenues

Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi stressed that western pressures and oil embargos have provided Iran with a great chance to reduce its dependence on oil revenues.

Addressing a large congregation of Iranian worshipers here in Tehran today, Naqdi said sanctions against the country should be “turned into opportunities to boost self-sufficiency and produce economic independence”.

He underscored that the Islamic Republic’s great power in all areas is the result of the Iranian nation’s resistance against sanctions and pressures.

Iran’s Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) are powerful in air, ground, naval and aerospace areas, and other achievements made by Iran in the scientific and industrial fields are also the result of resistance against sanctions and threats, Naqdi stated.

Many Iranian officials believe that the West’s ban on Iranian oil supplies will help Iranian economy end its dependence on oil revenues.

Earlier this year, Iranian Vice-President for Planning and Strategic Supervision Behrouz Moradi said that Iran plans to decrease its reliance on oil revenues in its next year state budget, adding that the country will try to increase its income in the non-oil export sector.

“Decreasing dependence on oil revenues and more focus on non-oil revenues are among the features of the next (Iranian) year’s (starts on March 21) budget bill,” Moradi said.

He said that developing the country’s infrastructures and investment in developmental projects are most important features of the next year’s budget bill.

“The sanctions imposed on us have created an opportunity to prepare the ground for cutting the connection between the (country’s) budget and oil (revenues),” Aboutorabi-Fard said at an economic conference here in Tehran in March.

At the same time, Iran’s First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said that the country plans to boost its non-oil exports to $70bln in the next Iranian year.

“The government targets $70 billion of non-oil exports in 1391 (March 20, 2012-March 20, 2013),” Rahimi said.