TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims his country can make much more money from inventions than from oil, rendering Western economic sanctions powerless.
Ahmadinejad says it's proof the West's oil embargo over Iran's suspect nuclear program won't stop the Islamic Republic's scientific and technological progress.
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Last week, Ahmadinejad said Iran must move away from dependence on oil revenue to overcome Western sanctions that have slowed the economy and disrupted foreign trade.
Iran's income from oil and gas exports has dropped by 45 percent as a result of sanctions. The West suspects Iran might make nuclear weapons. Iran denies that.
Ahmadinejad told a group of Iranians in Hamedan in western Iran on Tuesday that Iran can make 10 times as much money from inventions from its universities than from oil.
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