According to the National Iranian South Oil Company, Zera’atkar spoke Monday, July 20, at a meeting of Khuzestan province's crisis-response coordination headquarters. The session included Mohammad-Jafar Ghaempanah, executive deputy to the president; Abbas Aliabadi, minister of energy; Seyed Mohammadreza Movalizadeh, governor-general of Khuzestan; and other senior officials from major companies and organizations in the province.

Zera’atkar conveyed greetings from Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad to workers in the southern oil industry and thanked them for their sacrifice and continuous effort in sustaining production.

Calling Khuzestan the capital of Iran's oil industry, he said he was pleased senior national officials had traveled there to see firsthand some of the challenges the industry has faced recently.

He described the recent situation as an unusual event. Despite challenges — particularly those spanning multiple sectors — cooperation among agencies helped minimize the impact and kept operations and production running without interruption across the oil industry, he said.

Zera’atkar emphasized the decisive role of oil workers in managing the crisis, saying maintaining national oil and gas production was one of their most important achievements. He said employees of the National Iranian South Oil Company endured hardships and kept production going without the slightest pause, remaining committed to their posts despite existing risks.

He added that these efforts extended beyond the southern oil fields, covering operational areas and onshore and offshore facilities across the oil and gas industry, with workers' commitment and sense of responsibility ensuring continued production and energy supply nationwide.

Pointing to the role of technical expertise and domestic capability in overcoming the challenges, Zera’atkar said all issues were managed through technical knowledge, innovation, the skills of domestic specialists, and cooperation across sectors. He said this experience shows confidently that any future problem in the oil industry can be resolved by relying on the industry's workforce and the support of other government agencies.