Iran Selling Oil despite US Sanctions: VP
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri highlighted the country’s success in countering the US sanctions and said the Islamic Republic is selling its oil despite the embargoes on the oil sector.
The US government thought it was able to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero but the Islamic Republic sells its oil in various ways even though its neighbors and close international friends did not dare to buy the Iranian oil, Jahangiri said in a speech on Monday.
He further said nearly two years have passed since the new round of pressures on Iran as the US president has declared that the sanctions would largely affect the Iranian nation.
US officials are clearly speaking of an economic war against Iran and the Iranian people, the first vice-president said, adding that they wrongly thought they would be able to pave the ground for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
However, despite the pressures of sanctions and economic war, Iran managed to “keep itself on its feet”, he went on to say.
The remarks come against the backdrop of increased tensions between Iran and the US with Washington imposing new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The US has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since last year after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Since then, the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to reduce Iran’s oil exports to “zero,” and has sent an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber squad, an amphibious assault ship, and a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East to try to stack up pressure on Tehran.
Iranian officials, however, have dismissed such moves as psychological warfare, saying the country has its own ways of circumventing the American bans.
