Iran Selling as Much Oil as They Need To Despite US Pressure

Iranian officials urge Europe to do more to circumvent sanctions

While the US has reimposed all of its sanctions against Iran as of Monday, Iranian officials say that they are still able to sell as much oil as they need to on the international market. Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said that the US doesn’t see the reality that their sanctions are failing.

While the sanctions have had limited impact, Iranian officials are still pushing for the European Union to do more to ensure that European companies can continue to do business with Iran without fear of the US.

The EU has promised a clearing house that will facilitate such transactions without running afoul of US banking sanctions. Iranian officials say it is an “interesting” idea, but needs to be sped up to be more practical to use.

US officials have tried to downplay the lack of oil puts by providing waivers to eight nations, including those who had already indicated they intended to defy US sanctions with or without the waiver. China buys most of Iran’s oil, and had said they would continue to do so.

Iran’s oil exports are down some in the past six months, but officials say that they expect the exports to rise again in the months to come.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.