22 trillion tomans of Iran's oil revenue have not been collected in recent months

The Iranian government spokesperson announced that 22 trillion tomans from the country's oil sales revenue have not been collected in recent months. According to Fars News Agency, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht stated on Thursday, March 12, that as of March 6, the total revenue in this sector was 148 trillion tomans. Given the current dollar rate in Iran, which is about 3300 tomans, the uncollected revenue from oil sales in recent months exceeds six billion dollars. The Islamic Republic of Iran is unable to receive part of its oil revenue from both old and new customers due to financial sanctions. Shamseddin Hosseini, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, also stated on December 16, 2012, that 'due to sanctions, 50 percent of oil revenue collection has decreased.' In recent years, the Iranian government has established a headquarters called the 'Special Economic Measures Headquarters' for the 'sanction period,' which has been involved in discussions about the withdrawal of 4.1 billion dollars from the National Development Fund. It has been revealed that the collection of Iran's oil revenues is being conducted through specific methods, including the decisions made by this headquarters. Government officials responded to the Iranian parliament's accusations regarding the 'illegal' withdrawal of 4.1 billion dollars from the National Development Fund, stating that this amount was a debt owed by an Emirati oil company to Iran, which was deposited into the treasury after going through certain processes due to 'sanctions.' On the other hand, in recent years, the money from Iran's oil sales has been blocked in countries such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea, and Iran is still not allowed to use a large portion of this money. Yahya Al-Ishaq, the head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, stated on December 26 that Iran has 'about 100 billion dollars in frozen assets' in countries like China, India, and Japan, but 'cannot quickly utilize them.' Meanwhile, the World Bank reported on January 29 that if current oil prices continue and Iran cannot reach a comprehensive agreement with the six world powers regarding its nuclear program by the first half of this year, the total value of its oil exports for this year will be 23 billion dollars, whereas this figure reached 120 billion dollars in 2011. Iran's crude oil exports in 2011 were 2.2 million barrels per day. According to the current year's budget law, it is predicted that Iran will export 1.3 million barrels of crude oil and gas condensates per day. The spokesperson for Hassan Rouhani's government continued his remarks on Thursday, stating, 'In recent years, the country faced a negative economic growth of 6.8 percent, and the Hope and Prudence government managed to preserve national interests with the lifting of sanctions, and with planning, not only overcame the negative growth but now the country has a 24 percent growth in non-oil exports.' Mr. Nobakht announced on March 10 that the non-oil exports figure for the first ten months of this year was 42 billion and 580 million dollars. He also predicted that Iran's economic growth would reach two and a half percent next year.