Iran plans to increase oil exports despite US sanctions

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said on state TV on Wednesday that Iran aims to increase its oil exports despite US sanctions on Tehran’s oil sale. 

"There is strong will in Iran to increase oil exports despite the unjust and illegal US sanctions," Owji said. 

"I promise that good things will happen regarding Iran's oil sales in the coming months,” he added. 

As a country rich in oil and whose main revenue source is oil, the US sanctions which were reinstated by the Trump administration in 2015 restrict US companies from trading with Iran as well as with other countries that deal with it. 

Assessments based on shipping and other sources suggest Iran’s crude oil export dropped from 2.8 million barrels per day in 2018 to as low as 200,000. 

"Iran will return to its pre-sanctions crude production level as soon as US sanctions on Iran are lifted," Owji said. 

He added: "We are against using oil as a political tool that would harm the oil market”.

Last year, Iran requested a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help relieve pressures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic where the country is one of the worst-hit across the Middle East.