Free Iran:  Big statism has never been a source of wealth or prosperity anywhere in the world.  When the government dominates the economy to the extent that the regime does in Iran today, it only invites cronyism,  corruption, bureaucracy and inefficiency.  This regime can never create enough jobs for the Iranian people to escape poverty.   Iran needs completely new economic managers – managers who cut back the power of the state.

How could a country with 10 percent of the world’s known oil reserves (No. 3 after Saudi Arabia and Canada) and 15 percent of natural-gas reserves (No. 2 after Russia) rank 101st in terms of foreign direct investment?

Since the Islamic regime took power in Iran 30 years ago, the country has never been a desirable destination for FDI. It certainly never stood a chance of placing inside the top 10 in the world, despite its world-class energy resources. Iran is unattractive primarily because of its constitutional structure and the unfavorable investment climate that has resulted from the government’s ever-increasing control over the national economy. Article 81 of Iran’s constitution forbids multinational corporations from taking over certain businesses and bans “concessions to foreigners or the formation of companies.”

In addition, the government relies on energy exports as the main source of foreign-currency revenues and controls almost 90 percent of the economy. In such an environment, the private sector has been unable to thrive and has grown in recent years at a slower pace than that in neighboring countries.