Oil should become a source of progress for Iran: Supreme Leader

TEHRAN, March 13 (MNA) -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that oil reserves should become a source of progress for Iran. The Leader made the remarks in Tehran on Monday following a three-hour visit to the Research Institute of the Petroleum Industry, where he inspected the latest achievements of Iran’s oil industry. “According to the (Five-Year) Development Plan, oil should be converted from a source of revenue and a source for funding the country’s budget to a source of Iran’s economic development and strength. And officials should determinedly advance this correct and wise policy,” Ayatollah Khamenei stated. Iran’s Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015) is part of the 20-Year Outlook Plan (2005-2025), which is the country’s main blueprint for long-term sustainable growth. The Leader also said, “The countries that sell their oil according to the demands and policies of Western companies and make no efforts to gain advanced knowledge and develop indigenous industry… will become unprosperous countries when their oil reserves are exhausted.”