Behind the Headlines

Behind the Headlines – Monday 26 August 2019

Jamshid Chalangi:

Today we will look at the history of Iran’s oil industry since the first oil well began working in the country and indeed in the entire Middle East in 1908 in the city of Masjed Suleiman.

Since then oil has become the ultimate determining factor of the Middle East’s politics and the lives of its people.

Now, 40 years after theemergence of a new regime in Iran we will try to find out what it has done to Iran’s oil industries and where has its billions of dollars of revenue gone to.

In short, we will be asking “Where is My Oil”, which is also the title of a book by Mr Khosrow Semnani, who is our guest tonight along with oil expert Mr Sohrab Sobhani.

A few days ago Ayatollah Khamenei said that over the last 40 years many construction projects have taken place with the oil money and added that the next 40 years will be “even better for the Iranian people”!

Khosrow Semnani:

As for the book, we worked on its project for more than three and half years with the help of our friends so that the contents of the book will make our people aware of what national wealth they are sitting on and the regime’s corruption that is wasting its revenues.

The misuse of Iran’s oil revenue began with the arrival of the new regime in 1979 and has continued to this day.

What Khamenei says about the next 40 years of a better life for the Iranians is hallow as the last 40 years the regime’s deeds have only brought corruption and misery and poverty for the Iranian people and if this terrible trend does not come to an end soon it will be a major threat to the future of Iran and the Iranian people.

In our book of “Where is My Oil” we have tried to include as many facts as possible to show how our nation’s wealth has ended up in the pockets of the corrupt rulers of the regime and their proxies.

Sohrab Sobhani:

I suggest every Iraniannational who loves their country and has the least managerial experience must read Mr Semnani’s book as it is a historical document that has been put together with a great deal of attention to facts and data.

Once they read this book the only thing that they can say to Khamenei and his comments is “shame on you and leave our country to our people”!

Our country used to produce more than 5 million barrels of oil per day before the revolution and it nowstands as the 15th country in the table of oil producing countries of the world.

Still worse, these 5 million barrels were being drilled from only 400 wells but nowadays they are using 1130 wells for the few hundred thousand barrels that they can sell.

And as Mr Semnani has pointed out, even the revenue of this little number of productions is beingsquandered and nobody knows where their revenues go.