Lower Dependence on Oil Helped Iran Avert Price Drop Damage: President

Addressing a weekly cabinet session on Wednesday, Rouhani said the coronavirus pandemic and the unprecedented plunge in the oil prices have harmed economies in the world and made economic forecasts pointless.

“The situation we are witnessing in the oil (industry) is rare, as all oil-rich countries, including us, will suffer losses, but our losses in such conditions would be much less,” the president said.

“The more a country has been reliant upon crude oil, the more difficult conditions it will have. But since our dependence on oil has been reduced, either intentionally or unintentionally, by design or imposed by the enemies, we will definitely suffer less harms,” the president added.

He further highlighted Iran’s success in coping with the coronavirus outbreak and containing the spread of the disease, saying the production of medical supplies and disinfectants inside the country has reached such a high level that Iran can now export those items after fulfilling the domestic needs.

The president also paid tribute to all Iranian people, entrepreneurs and knowledge-based companies for contributing to the national efforts in the battle with COVID-19.