Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has claimed the Islamic Republic can create 10 times more wealth from inventions than oil.<\/p>\n
Addressing a crowd in the western city of Hamedan, Ahmadinejad scoffed at a western sanction against Tehran for its suspect nuclear programme.<\/p>\n
“Don’t buy our oil? To hell with you,” Ahmadinejad said in remarks aimed at the West.<\/p>\n
“It’s better if you don’t buy… 10 times more money will head to people’s pockets through the inventions of our scientists.”<\/p>\n
Last week, Ahmadinejad said Iran must move away from dependence on oil revenues to overcome Western sanctions that have slowed the economy and disrupted foreign trade. <\/p>\n
Iran has long depended on oil sales for about 80 percent of its foreign currency revenue.<\/p>\n
Iran’s income from oil and gas exports has dropped by 45 percent as a result of sanctions. The West fears Iran may ultimately be able to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.<\/p>\n
Iran’s national currency has also lost about 8 per cent of its value in the past two days, hitting a record low against the US. dollar and other foreign currencies in street trading.<\/p>\n
Street traders said Tuesday it reached 36,200 rials to the dollar. It was 33,500 rials on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Iran’s national currency lost nearly 40 percent of its value in 2012 alone.<\/p>\n
Each US dollar was traded at about 10,000 rials as recently as early 2011. Iranian authorities have accused the West of waging an “economic war”.<\/p>\n
The country is living under stepped up Western sanctions that also include banking restrictions that make it increasingly difficult for Iran’s Asian customers to pay for oil deliveries.<\/p>\n
The government is preparing an austerity budget for the next Persian calendar year that begins on March 21.<\/p>\n
It aims to avoid a budget deficit by substantially increasing income taxes to make up for shrinking oil revenues.<\/p>\n
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