The report, Where Is My Oil? Corruption in Iran’s Oil and Gas Sector, touches on a very important foreign policy issue that concerns US-Iran relations. It was timely, very well documented, very well researched, and I think it's an absolute must-read for anyone that's involved in American foreign policy, frankly, towards the Middle East.

The report’s fundamental question, “Where is my oil?” goes to the heart of what the Iranian people are demanding, and as such I think it will have a powerful, powerful impact in the weeks and months ahead as this report gets translated and disseminated into Iran.

Iranians are very poetic. Poetry is at the heart of the Iranian psyche, and I am sure, in the next few weeks and months, we'll see a poem, or, at a minimum, a slogan on the streets of Tehran that has to do with “Where is my oil?”.

When the people of Iran ask their leaders “Where is my oil?” the answer is either "none of your business" or "we do not know." On the other hand, if a Norwegian asks the same question -- "Where is my oil" -- the answer is "In a $1 Trillion Fund" And this, is the difference between a free society and a theocratic dictatorship.

I think this forum is yet another example of the great work that Carnegie Endowment, Foreign Policy Institute, and our think tanks in general do. They help make to a lively debate on American foreign policy.

The above blog post was adapted from comments Mr. Sobhani made at the Oct. 30, 2018 launch of Where Is My Oil? and is posted with his permission. Download the Report