Iranian officials react to the new American measure against Iran’s oil exports

Tabnak – US President Donald Trump’s recent decision not to extend the sanctions waivers for Iran’s oil exports has sparked reactions from the Iranian officials. The main theme of all reaction is reiterating that the US plan to cut Iran’s oil exports down to zero won’t be successful.

In this vein, Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh slammed the US and its allies for using oil as a political “weapon” to put more economic pressure on the Islamic Republic, emphasizing, however, that Washington will never be able to achieve its “dream” of cutting Tehran’s oil exports to “zero.”

“Definitely, [the US] dream of bringing Iran’s oil exports to zero will never come true and we will work with full force toward breaking America’s sanctions,” Zangeneh told a parliamentary session on Tuesday.

“The situation of oil supply and demand is very fragile in the current circumstances and statements by the US and its allies expose their concerns over the market’s reaction,” said the minister, a day after Washington said it would be ending waivers that allow eight countries to buy Iranian oil without facing Washington’s sanctions.

Zangeneh also described the oil market as “unpredictable” and said “it is not possible to rest assured that enough oil will be produced because regional countries announce production capacities beyond the real levels.” The US and its regional allies “made a big mistake by politicizing oil and using it as a weapon,” the minister said.

In the same vein, the chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission says the country’s oil sales would never drop to less than a million barrels per day.

“Iran’s oil sales will never fall below a million barrels per day,” Heshamtollah Falahatpishe said on his Twitter account on Tuesday. “The minimum amount of Iran’s oil sales is determined by bilateral relations not the political bluffs of (US President Donald) Trump and (Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo,” he added in his tweet.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States' decision to intensify its economic pressure campaign against the Iranian people reveals its “panic” and “desperation.”

“Escalating #EconomicTERRORISM against Iranians exposes panic & desperation of US regime — and chronic failures of its client co-conspirators,” Zarif said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in his post, Zarif hit out at US President Donald Trump over his tweet a day earlier, in which he attempted to suggest that John Kerry, the ex-American secretary of state, is breaking a US law by giving “advice” to Iran. Zarif said, “REAL news, @realdonaldtrump: Inheritors of ancient Persian civilization don’t base strategy on “advice” of foreigners—let alone Americans.”

It’s noteworthy that observers express serious doubts after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington’s aim was to bring Iran’s crude exports to zero as he announced an end to the waivers which allowed imports from the Middle Eastern powerhouse.

"It's difficult to imagine all exports being cut off, especially since China is still a major buyer of Iranian crude oil," Jim Burkhard, vice president for oil markets at IHS Markit, told Associated Press.

Last month, Iranian exports of crude oil and condensate surged to levels near before sanctions to 1.70 million barrels per day (bpd), surprising market watchers.