Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, has issued a warning over the recent drop in oil prices, and stating that countries which are behind decreasing oil costs would eventually regret the decision to keep current production levels. Rouhani also warned that UAE countries Kuwait and Saudi Arabia would suffer from the cost decrease right along with Iran. During the speech which was broadcast on the state television station Hassan stated “Those that have planned to decrease the prices against other countries will regret this decision. If Iran suffers from the drop in oil prices, know that other oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will suffer more than Iran.” Right now oil is at a 6 year low, but OPEC nations including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have refused to cut production in order to force a price increase. The economy of Kuwait is 95% dependent on oil sales, and in Saudi Arabia this percentage is close to 80%.
The warning issued by President Hassan Rouhani about the recent and severe drop in oil prices may have been made because Iran is also dependent on oil but the country does not have the vast reserves that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have. This means that the drop in oil prices will have a bigger impact on Iran that the other countries, and the economy of Iran may slow down and suffer damage if this happens. It is doubtful that other nations will take enough notice to boost the price of oil in the near future.