Q: Does such a policy forecast the day when normal diplomatic relations will be established between Iran and Israel?

A: No. Or, better, not until the question of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied territory has been solved. And as regards the possibility of this question being solved, all I can say is that the Israelis have no choice if they want to live in peace with the Arabs.

Q: We all know it’s thanks to oil you have computers, that it’s thanks to oil you can turn out machine-made carpets and that it’s oil you’ll have to thank for your future wealth. May we discuss the policy you’ve adopted as regards oil, and concerning the West?

A: It’s quite simple. I’ve got this oil and I can’t drink it. However, I know I can exploit it to the full without blackmailing the rest of the world and even attempting to prevent its being used to blackmail the rest of the world. I’ve therefore chosen the policy of ensuring its sale to everyone, indiscriminately. It wasn’t a difficult choice. I’ve never thought of siding with the Arab countries who threatened to blackmail the West. I’ve already said my country is independent, and everyone knows my country is Moslem but not Arab, and consequently, I don’t act according to the convenience of the Arabs but according to the interests of Iran. Moreover, Iran needs money, and one can make a lot of money with oil. That’s the whole difference between me and the Arabs. Because countries that say “we-won’t-sell-the-West-any-more-oil” are countries that don’t know what to do with their money. In many cases they have a population of no more than 6- or 700,000 souls and so much money in the bank that they could subsist for three or four years without pumping a drop of oil, without selling a single barrel. I can’t.

Q: Meanwhile, Kaddafi of Libya calls you a traitor.

A: Traitor? Me, a traitor, when I’ve taken the whole business into my hands and already own 51 percent of the production formerly the exclusive property of foreign oil companies? I wasn’t aware Mr. Kaddafi had addressed such an insult to me and . . . Look, I can’t take that Mr. Kaddafi seriously at all. I can only wish him the ability to serve his country as I’m serving mine, I can only remind him that he shouldn’t be so vociferous. The Libyan oil reserves will be exhausted 10 years from now. My oil, on the other hand, will last at least 30 or 40 years. Maybe 50 or 60, even. It depends on whether new fields are discovered or not, and it is very probable they will be. But even if that doesn’t materialize, we’ll still manage very well indeed. Our production is increasing daily. In 1976 we’ll be extracting as much as eight million barrels a day. Eight million barrels are a lot.

Q: Be that as it may, you’ve made a number of enemies.

A: It’s possible my decision not to blackmail the West may induce the Arabs to follow my example. If not all the Arabs, some of them at least. If not at once, within a short time. Some countries are not independent like Iran, they haven’t the experts Iran has, and they haven’t the popular backing I have. I can dictate my own conditions. They can’t yet. It isn’t easy to reach a point where you can sell your oil directly, without interference from the companies that have held a monopoly for years arid years. And even if the Arab countries could bring themselves to follow my example… Indeed, it would’ be so much simpler, and safer too, if the countries of the West were mere purchasers and we direct purveyors. It would put an end to resentment, blackmail, grudges and enmity… Yes, it is quite possible that I may set a good example and, however that may be, I’m going my own way, forging straight ahead. Our doors are wide open to whoever wants to sign a contract with us, and many have already offered. British, Americans, Japanese, Dutch, Germans . . . They were so scared at the beginning. But now they get ever more daring.