Enemy Could Never Cut Iran’s Oil Exports to Zero: Rouhani
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said even if the US had not granted waivers to countries purchasing Iranian crude, the country’s oil exports could never be cut down to zero.
Addressing a meeting of the Administrative Council of West Azarbaijan Province on Monday, Rouhani shrugged off US plots to undermine the Islamic Republic and said, “The Americans launched a propaganda that they would push Iran’s oil exports to zero and actually pursued it.”
However, the president stressed, with the new policy that Iran’s Oil Ministry has adopted, even if the US had not granted waivers to countries buying oil from Iran, the Islamic Republic could still sell its oil and the enemy could never cut Iran’s oil exports to zero.
The remarks came as tensions between Iran and the US have escalated since US President Donald Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
US officials have repeatedly claimed that they aim to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero.
Following the US exit from the nuclear deal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.
Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.
The second batch of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic took effect on November 4.