Iranian officials reaffirm the country will find ways to circumvent oil sanctions

Tabnak – By increasing the pressure of the sanctions, the US is trying, among other things, to stop Iran’s oil exports, cutting the country’s main source of income. However, Iranian officials reiterate that Tehran will find ways to continue selling oil even under harsh American sanctions.

In this vein, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the US decision to end sanctions waivers on imports of Iranian oil has angered Washington's allies, noting that they will find ways to resist the measures.

"People are not happy. China is not happy, Turkey is not happy, Russia is not happy. France is not happy. US allies are not happy that this is happening and they say that they will find ways of resisting it," Zarif told Fox News on Sunday.

"How they will do it, it's up to them, and it's up to them looking at their own future, if they want to have their lives ruled by the United States," he added.

Meanwhile, another senior Iranian official says US sanctions against Iran's oil industry will harm the stability of global markets, adding that the three European sides to a 2015 landmark nuclear agreement should live up to their promises to make up for Washington's restrictions.

"These sanctions are an example of the US bullying reaction to the changing balance of power in the world," Iranian Deputy Minister of Petroleum for International and Commercial Affairs Amir Hossein Zamaninia told a session of Expert Workshops of the World Petroleum Council (WPC) in Tehran on Monday.

He added that although Washington's sanctions make life more difficult for ordinary Iranians, the Islamic Republic will get through them even under the current difficult circumstances.

These remarks come as the International Monetary Fund said Monday that the US sanctions on Iran, rising unrest in the Middle East and North Africa and oil price volatility are dragging regional economic growth

The IMF warned in a bi-annual economic outlook report that prospects for the region are "clouded by elevated levels of uncertainty."

"Such uncertainty may increase investors' perception of risk for the whole region, leading to capital outflows and exchange rate pressure," the global lender said, according to AFP.

Oil prices hit their highest level since November after the administration of US President Donald Trump said in a statement on April 22 that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.

The move ended six months of waivers, which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers -- Turkey, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- to continue importing limited volumes.