US not able to cut Iran’s oil exports to ‘zero’
Iranian First Vice-President Es'haq Jahangiri rejected the possibility of reducing Iran's oil exports to “zero” by November, noting that this is a baseless claim by Washington.
"The claim by the US that it can reduce the exports of oil from Iran to zero is baseless and inconsiderate,” Jahangiri said on September 10.
He added, however, that there is a possibility of a reduction in the exports and this can affect the country’s fiscal budget.
The senior official called for the continuation of the resistance economy policies to circumvent new US sanctions.
Iran reached a deal with originally six world powers in 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for mainly the lifting of restrictions on its oil sales.
The administration of US President Donald Trump — which took office two years after the deal was struck — unilaterally withdrew the US from the agreement on May 8.
Iran has remained in the deal but has stressed that for it to continue to stay in the agreement, the remaining parties have to offset any adverse effects of the US withdrawal and guarantee that Iran will continue to collect the economic benefits that it is contractually entitled to.
Europe, Russia and China are now working with Iran to map out a potential course without the US.
The American withdrawal has entailed not only the re-imposition of unilateral US sanctions on Iran but also the so-called secondary sanctions on third countries that would continue to do business with the Islamic Republic.
A first round of American sanctions — targeting Iranian access to the US dollar, metals trading, coal, industrial software, and auto sector — took effect on August 6. A second round, forthcoming on November 4, will be targeting Iran’s oil sales and its Central Bank.
The White House has said that it seeks to bring Iran’s oil sales supposedly down to “zero.” It has since been pressuring Iran’s crude clients to halt their purchases from the Islamic Republic.
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