Iranian Oil Exports Double: President
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – In spite of the sanctions imposed by the US, Iran’s sale of oil has doubled since August 2021, President Ebrahim Raisi said.
"With the 13th government in power, oil sales have doubled and there is no longer any concern about oil sales,” Raisi said in a live interview with national broadcaster IRIB on Monday.
According to Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji, Iran's oil exports have risen under the toughest sanctions without waiting for the outcome of the currently stalled Vienna talks to remove them.
The increase is down to different methods used to win contracts and finding different buyers. Owji has said Iran “took oil to the places the Americans cannot even think of."
The government has drawn up the fiscal plan for this Iranian year on the assumption that the US sanctions would persist. It envisages at least $30 billion in oil export revenues for the government.
President Raisi also noted that foreign trade has touched the $100-billion milestone which is "a completely different figure from the past".
He also said initial concerns about the strategic stocks of essential consumer goods have eased, Press TV reported.
"Today, I assure the people that we do not have a problem with the stocks of basic goods, and that the government has taken all measures to ensure that there is no problem with the livelihood of the people," he said.
The Iranian consumer staples sector has occasionally witnessed some shortages of grocery products.
"Today, concerns about protecting the lives of the people against the outbreak of the coronavirus, stocks of basic goods, foreign exchange, foreign trade as well as oil sales have been resolved to an acceptable extent," Raisi said.
He said the government seeks to reform the subsidy program for basic goods and phase out an "unfair" allocation of funds and distribution of foreign exchange at concessionary rates.
"From the very first days of the government, almost all economists and experts warned us that we should think of a solution to the serious problems of the country,” the president added.
Raisi also touched on the reopening of businesses and schools after a successful vaccination campaign, saying that "today, in addition to importing vaccines, we also have a very high capacity to produce vaccines in the country and even export them.”
The president said his government's measures have brought down the number of daily deaths from the coronavirus pandemic to 7 from 700.