Iran Says It's Strong Enough To Cope With Oil At $25 As Prices Start Plunging Again

Iran can weather oil at $25 per barrel, according to the man in charge of the country's precious resource.

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the Islamic Republic of Iran's oil minister, says that "there will yet again be no threat posed to Iran's oil industry," even if the price falls another $20 or so, according to Bloomberg.

His reassurances come as prices are falling again today - although they're slightly higher than the six-year lows recorded last week, when West Texas Intermediate dropped below $45 per barrel, and Brent slipped below $47.

As of 9:45 a.m. GMT, WTI is down 2.91% at $47.70 and Bren is 0.40% lower at $48.65.

Iran talks up its oil industry, but unlike the Gulf States which genuinely can weather extremely low oil prices, Iran's situation is more precarious. The country needed oil prices to be well over $100, closer to $150 to cover their budget deficit, and Citi reported that Iranian oil revenues had already dropped by 30% at the beginning of December.