Sanctions have led to Iran’s oil industry falling behind but Iran will resist, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Tuesday, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
“The conditions in Iran are in a way that once every few years the oil industry receives a deadly blow and the economic sanctions can be considered one of those,” he said.
“This has caused Iran’s oil industry to fall behind from the international position and space but we will resist in this area.”
Iran also vowed over the weekend to stay the course when it comes to its oil exports, Iranian Oil Ministry’s website, SHANA, said.
“We will use every possible way to export our oil and we will not succumb to America’s pressure because exporting oil is Iran’s legitimate right,” Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Sunday.
US sanctions have hit Iran’s oil exports hard, cutting them down by some 80 percent, while US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that the US had managed to take most of Iranian crude oil off the market, saying that nearly 2.7 million barrels had been taken out of the market.
