The Iran View.

Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said US pressure on IOCs to shun Tehran will backfire by hindering efforts to add new supply to meet rising global demand. He said: "Those who are engaged in doing the [US and UNSC] sanctions and limitations should be very concerned what will happen in the next five to 10 years". In addition, US and UNSC sanctions have targeted big Iranian banks. Washington's pressure has made Western companies and banks increasingly reluctant to expand their investment in Iran or cut ties completely. But Tehran has brushed off any impact on the economy. Nozari said: "These tactics are the old-style practices...belonging to the 1950s and 1960s. These practices are, in my opinion, very toothless and are not effective these days".

The 13th international oil, gas and petrochemical exhibition in Iran was opened on April 19 by First VP Parviz Davoudi and Minister Nozari. Davoudi said $500 bn will be spent to boost Iran's oil production capacity to more than 5m b/d and produce 32m t/y of petrochemicals. He said: "We must take big steps towards the privatisation of these industries, and these moves must be carried out in the downstream sectors as well". Nozari said: "With a minimum of 60-70% of that investment, we would provide the opportunity for about $250-300 bn of investment and employment by domestic contractors, consultants and manufacturers".

Reuters on April 20 quoted Akbar Torkan, head of planning at the state-owned National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), as saying in Rome that Iran had endured US sanctions for decades and its petroleum industry will not be beaten by them now - however much they hurt. He said of the cold war with the US: "It will cost us. There is no doubt our projects will be affected. But it will not stop our projects".

Torkan, a former defence minister, said Iran had become expert in coping with isolation. During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, he was head of Iran's Defence Industries Organisation, when all its defence equipment required US spare parts which theoretically were blocked by a US-led arms embargo. He said: "Even after 30 years of sanctions, all our F-14 aircraft are flying and operational". Of the financial sanctions, he said: "It will create some costs for us", but he said the oil industry was "stronger than during war-time" and well placed to overcome obstacles. Asked how, he said he could not tell that publicly, adding: "This is news for every newspaper... They will try again to close the ways that we are working".

Torkan said: "When everybody in the world is focusing on security of supply for the oil market, it's not reasonable to force the second biggest reserve holder not to develop the fields that everybody in the world needs". He said though US companies were staying away, other IOCs were working in Iran and were in talks on future projects.