Apart from being a member of George Bush's infamous "axis of evil', the Islamic nation of 70 million people is also OPEC's second largest crude producer after Saudi Arabia.
"World oil demand will double over the coming 20 years and the percentage of Persian Gulf oil in world supply will increase from 17 to 58%," the official said.
Iran has the third largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which is also a member of Bush's tripartite "axis of evil". The remaining member is North Korea.
In other news from Iran, the largest project in Iran involving international oil and gas companies, the giant offshore South Pars gas field, has finally begun production.
One of the participants in the project, French oil giant TotalFinaElf, said Phases 2 and 3 of the South Pars field are expected to produce two billion cubic feet of gas and 80,000 barrels of condensate per day from 20 wells tied into two unmanned platforms.
The project was the first to challenge Washington's Iran Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), which threatened sanctions against any firm investing over $20 million in the oil and gas sectors of Iran and Libya.
