Iranian Official: Sanctions Make Us Stronger
December 10, 2012 by Sam Rolley
A senior Iranian commander in the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said last week that sanctions from the West are not hurting the nation, but actually making it more self-reliant and resilient.
General Mohammad Reza Naqdi told worshippers at Tehran University that Iran should welcome Western sanctions because they are helping Iranians make their country more self-sufficient, according to The Associated Press.
His remarks are similar to other conservative Iranians who believe that, despite U.N. sanctioned embargos on Western oil, banking and trade with the country, Iran is making technological and industrial advances.
Naqdi said a man who runs 100 meters in 20 seconds can finish it in 7 seconds if a wolf is chasing him, explaining why he believes the country will persevere in missile, drone, satellite and uranium enrichment advancements.
“What we could not achieve in about two decades was achieved in one and a half years,” Naqdi said.
The sanctions have cut Iran off from the Western world and severely damaged its oil trade, which previously accounted for about 80 percent of economic revenue. The Nation’s currency has been severely weakened, most heavily affecting small-business owners and wage earners in the country.
But Iran has made advancements under its “resistance economy,” most notably by constructing facilities to become self-sufficient in producing its own gasoline. The country had worked to do this since 1991 but wasn’t successful until 2010, two years after sanctions began.
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