Ansari’s ministry negotiated with major Western corporations, oversaw sovereign investments, and coordinated with OPEC partners. He cultivated the image of Iran as a responsible, forward-looking economic power rather than a mere exporter of crude oil.
Yet this internationalism also intensified domestic tensions. Many Iranians saw vast sums flowing abroad while housing shortages, unemployment, and rural poverty persisted. The state’s technocratic language of growth and modernization increasingly clashed with social realities.
National Iranian Oil Company: At the Heart of the System
Ansari’s final official post in Iran was as CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) from 1977 to 1978. By then, NIOC was not only the backbone of Iran’s economy but the central institution of the regime. Its revenues financed nearly every major state project.
