President Rouhani says Iran stood strong at hard times

President Hassan Rouhani says the country has stood strong in the face of severe plunges in international prices of oil over the past two years.

According to Press TV, President Rouhani emphasized that Iran despite difficulties had been doing well enough that it never had to tap into its reserve funds to make up for any budget shortfalls “as some key oil producers were eventually forced to”.

“All oil-producing countries came across problems [as a result of falling oil prices] and even Saudi Arabia had to withdraw about $100 billion from its reserve funds to support its spending,” he told a ceremony to inaugurate a main water supply project in Iran’s northeastern city of Mashhad.

“However, Iran for the first time in its history not only withdrew nothing from its emergency reserve funds but also deposited 20 percent of its petrodollars into its National Development Fund over the past two years.”

President Rouhani said Iran’s ability to double its crude oil exports to 2 million barrels per day (mb/d) as well as its successful steps to answer the rising domestic demand for natural gas – specifically during winters – had been among the country’s most notable achievements.  

“These manifest the strength of the nation and the government of Iran,” he said. 

SS