Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed his country can create ten times more wealth from inventions than from oil, rendering Western economic sanctions powerless. Ahmadinejad mocked the embargo, saying Iranian universities would soon be producing money-making inventions, but did not cite any specific examples. Iran’s income from oil and as has dropped by 45% as a result of sanctions, which have slowed the economy and disrupted foreign trade. In the last two days alone, Iran’s national currency has lost close to 10% of its value, reaching a new record low. In 2012, the national currency lost nearly 40% of its value, proof that the economic sanctions imparted on Iran by the U.S. and others are working to cripple Iran’s economy and slow the production of nuclear weapons.