Rouhani: Designers of Oil Price Drop Will Regret It

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, said on Tuesday, January 13, that "although the price of oil has dropped to about half compared to previous months, those who have designed the drop in oil prices against certain countries will regret it." According to the state news agency IRNA, he added during his provincial trip in Bushehr: "This path is not sustainable for them; if Iran suffers from the drop in oil prices, know that other producing countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will suffer more than Iran." In the Iranian budget bill for 2014, the price of oil was projected at $100 per barrel, but following an unprecedented drop in oil prices in recent months, the Iranian government was forced to reduce this figure to $72 per barrel for the coming year. The price of oil has now fallen below $50 per barrel, reaching its lowest level in six years. Rouhani further stated that "statistics show that 80% of Saudi Arabia's annual budget relies on oil sales, and 90% of Saudi exports are related to crude oil sales." He added, "95% of Kuwait's budget is dependent on oil, and about 95% of its exports are related to crude oil, while Iran's budget this year is only 33% reliant on oil." Rouhani continued: "Iran will not be pressured by the drop in oil prices. We will overcome this conspiracy, and the drop in oil prices cannot continue for a long time." This statement from the Iranian president comes as Prince Alwaleed, a Saudi billionaire investor, said in an interview with American media on Monday that he believes oil prices "will never return to $100 per barrel again." According to CNN, he stated that "demand has decreased, and supply is excessive, and both factors have caused the oil price to fall, and the issue is that simple." A day after Alwaleed, the UAE's Minister of Energy also said that OPEC can no longer maintain oil prices at a specific level. According to AFP, Suhail Al-Mazrouei mentioned that to protect oil prices, the production of North American shale oil must be curtailed. Previously, Ali Al-Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, recently stated that even if oil prices drop to $20 per barrel, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will not reduce its production. Rouhani also called for accelerating the nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group. According to IRNA, the Iranian president referred to the negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the 1+5 and the sanctions, stating: "To all those who have stepped into these unjust sanctions and may be thinking of stepping in again, I declare that the era of threats and sanctions is over." The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council added: "If the 1+5 and negotiators do not take a logical and swift approach towards Iran, they will know that they will incur losses." Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, stated on Sunday that the sanctions of the past three years have reduced Iran's crude oil exports by 50% and the country's oil revenues by "$100 billion." He also mentioned that if the drop in oil prices continues for another three years, another $100 billion will be lost from Iran's oil revenues.