Iran says US unable to stop its oil exports

Iran's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri has said that Iran is prepared to frustrate the US November 4 sanctions on its crude exports.

The Iranian government has prepared plans to counter the impacts of returning US sanctions by maintaining oil exports above one million barrels per day, Jahangiri was quoted as saying by Press TV, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

"Iran exported as much as 2.5 million barrels per day of oil over the past months," he said, adding that "there had been a decline of a few thousand barrels per day. But we have always emphasised that Iran's exports should not decline below one million barrels per day."

Earlier in October, Jahangiri said that the US was seeking to cut Iran's oil exports to zero and prevent Iran's imports of basic commodities, including raw materials.

Trump's goal by exerting energy sanctions on Iran was to minimize the country's sources of income in the current economic war against Iran, he said.

Jahangiri said that Iran has no concerns over the potential impacts of returning US sanctions on its oil exports given that it is already selling its crude oil higher than the price tag it has set in its annual budget plan.

Following US President Donald Trump's decision to quit the historic Iran nuclear deal on May 8, the US vowed to reimpose sanctions lifted under the accord against Iran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations that have business links with Iran.

The US State Department has set November 4 as the deadline for international oil buyers to stop all their oil purchases from Iran.

--IANS

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