Profiting From The Credit Crunch

As the financial markets start to tumble and the western world fears a recession, not everyone feels so glum.

President Ahmadinejad of the Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that while America has started to decline, the Iranians should get ready to 'manage the world'.

So far the share prices on the Tehran stock exchange have hardly been affected by the credit crunch that is reaching the West.

In fact, many stockbrokers are seeing the crisis as an opportunity for their country, and a prime investment time.

Mr Ahmadinejad has said that the crisis will not affect his country, and that they have excess amounts of cash in the economy.

One of the senior clerics in Iran , Ayatollah Jannati, has said to BBC News "we are very happy that America's economy is in jeopardy and they are paying the price for their misdeeds. God is punishing them".

Foreign investors however are unlikely to be successful if they want to invest in the country. Foreigners need government approval if they wish to invest, and this proccess takes at least a month.

However many have warned the country that it will not be long before they are also hit by the crisis, and the chances are that it will be worse for Iran than it is for America.

Saeed Layez, one of Iran's outspoken economists said to BBC News that it will be worse for their country "because of the oil price and our dependency on oil income".

The country has faced high inflation as well as high unemployment for a long time, and the fact that property prices are likely to fall if the financial crisis does hit could be a good thing for the poorer classes.