著者

ケイワン アブドリ

出版者

独立行政法人 日本貿易振興機構アジア経済研究所

雑誌

中東レビュー (ISSN:21884595)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.5, pp.152-160, 2018 (Released:2019-03-15)

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During the Oil Nationalization Movement of the early 1950s, Iran’s oil was boycotted by the British and major oil companies, which brought a lot of financial hardship to the government of Prime Minister Mossadegh. A few medium-scale oil companies tried to buy and transport it to the market, including Japanese Idemitsu Kosan. It was a very risky but highly profitable deal for them, because Iran gave large discounts to the buyers. However, after Mossadegh’s downfall and the establishment of the Zahedi government, the deal faced problems. Iran could not or would not easily accept the discounted rate requested by Idemitsu.In approximately 1954, the Japanese government intervened to support Idemitsu, including by writing letters to the Foreign Ministry. Below is one of those letters, which has been translated from Farsi to Japanese, that was sent to Dr. Ardalan, the Foreign Minister of Iran, in September 1956. In the letter, Japan demanded that the Iranians keep their obligations and promises and offered a long-term oil deal with special conditions. In the article, I describe the background and details of the deal, explain the Japanese government’s position regarding the Idemitsu deal, and shed some light on Japan’s energy diplomacy.

著者

ケイワン アブドリ

出版者

独立行政法人 日本貿易振興機構アジア経済研究所

雑誌

中東レビュー (ISSN:21884595)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.3, pp.74-95, 2016 (Released:2019-12-03)

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It is a well-known and well-studied fact that after the 1979 revolution, Iran’s economy went through a process of fundamental change and as a result a totally different economic system was established. Among the most remarkable changes was the emergence of so-called para-statal organizations, which were supervised by some institution within the state, while not being controlled by the government. Because of their politically strong position, they enjoy many privileges such as tax exemption or easy access to credit.Although deeply regarded as one of the most striking features of the post-revolution economic system, published studies about para-statal entities have been very limited so far. In this paper, I will focus on one of the biggest para-statal organizations, Mostaz`afan (Oppressed) Foundation. I will attempt to examine the historical and political background behind the formation and transformation of this conglomerate, its system of corporate governance, and its economic scale and scope over the past 35 years. Para-statal conglomerates together with state owned companies are going to be the two most important pillars of Iran’s economy in the foreseeable future. Understanding their history will not only help us learn about the current economic system of Iran, but also give us some insight into the future of the economy, too.