Amir Jafarpour, who is deputy head of the Transportation and Fuel Management Committee, says officials were forced to order the coaches because billions of dollars of payments from crude oil exports to China have not been transferred to Iran because of sanctions.
Jafarpour is quoted by the conservative news website tasnimnews.Com today.
The US and its allies have imposed oil and banking sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program. Iran has frequently turned to barter arrangements because of sanctions-related difficulties with money transfers. China is Iran's top crude oil importer.