Rouhani and Zangeneh Respond to Jalili's Remarks in Debate About JCPOA and Oil Exports

Following Saeed Jalili's critical remarks about the JCPOA and the level of oil sales during previous administrations before Ebrahim Raisi in a debate with Masoud Pezeshkian, Hassan Rouhani and Bijan Zangeneh responded to him. Hassan Rouhani, the former president, who has been repeatedly criticized by Jalili and other principlist candidates during this year's presidential election campaign, claimed in a video released on Tuesday, July 2, that there was "$86 billion" in foreign investment after the nuclear agreement with the West. He addressed Saeed Jalili, who has been a secretary and member of the Supreme National Security Council for years, saying, "If the JCPOA was bad, why did the Supreme National Security Council, where you also sat, approve it?" Rouhani further noted that Jalili had made the same claims "ten times" in that council. He added, "You have been answered a hundred times. You still return to the previous statement." On the other hand, Bijan Zangeneh, the oil minister of Rouhani's administrations, also responded on Tuesday with a video to another part of Jalili's remarks regarding the level of oil exports during the twelfth government. He questioned Jalili's claim that oil exports during that government were 200,000 barrels per day. Zangeneh emphasized that during his ministry, "by law," he sent monthly reports on oil production and exports to the Supreme Leader, the heads of the three branches, the parliament, and other authorities, with his signature on these reports. The former oil minister stated that in Esfand 1399 (March 2021), Iran's daily crude oil production was about 2 million 629 thousand barrels, and 814 thousand barrels of gas condensate were also produced. Regarding export figures in Esfand 1399, he claimed that the Islamic Republic exported 871 thousand barrels of crude oil and 118 thousand barrels of gas condensate daily, adding that 600 thousand barrels of petroleum products should also be added to this export figure. Zangeneh asked Jalili, "Where do you get this two hundred thousand barrels that you keep repeating?" He stated that the numbers he provided are "undeniable and based on the oil company's reports." Besides Jalili, other principlist candidates in the first round of debates and officials of Raisi's government have repeatedly stated that with the coming to power of the thirteenth government, Iran's oil exports and production have increased, and the Islamic Republic has found ways to circumvent sanctions to sell oil. Following these statements, the oil minister of Ebrahim Raisi's government also rejected Masoud Pezeshkian's remarks about the level of discounts on Iran's oil sales. Javad Owji indirectly referred to these remarks on Tuesday, saying, "They say they give discounts; by God, the discount they mention is less than my fingers." Thus, he claimed that the discount Iran gives for oil sales is minimal. Owji also announced that Iran currently sells oil to 17 countries and added, "We are in an economic war; we should not announce the numbers, and previous governments were the same." The Iranian oil minister had previously claimed that the thirteenth government does not give "high discounts" to oil customers. Earlier, Reuters reported, citing industry and oil trade sources, that Iran had given a $13 discount per barrel of exported oil to Chinese refineries last year. Additionally, tracking companies like "Vortexa" and "Tanker Trackers" show that Iran exported 1.3 million barrels of crude oil and gas condensates daily last year, along with over 220 thousand barrels of fuel oil (mazut). OPEC had estimated the price of Iran's exported oil, not considering discounts and costs of circumventing sanctions, to be above $83 last year. Thus, Iran should have earned at least $46 billion from crude oil, gas condensates, and fuel oil exports; however, Iranian customs statistics show that this figure was only $36 billion. Therefore, nearly 22% of Iran's oil revenues were spent on circumventing sanctions and oil discounts. Regarding oil exports, Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on Tuesday at the fortieth ceremony for Ebrahim Raisi in Mashhad: "Our oil export route has opened because anyone who tried to seize our ship, we seized theirs. Anyone who attacked our ship, we attacked theirs." The IRGC has repeatedly seized foreign vessels in the Persian Gulf in recent years. This military and security organization announced last December that it had seized two vessels with a total of 34 foreign crew members on charges of "fuel smuggling" in the Persian Gulf. The United States announced in the summer of 1402 (2023) that Iran had "attacked, harassed, or seized" more than 20 ships in the Persian Gulf in the two years leading up to that time. On the other hand, the United States confirmed last year that it had seized a tanker carrying 980 thousand barrels of oil belonging to the IRGC for violating U.S. sanctions. In April last year, the U.S. seized the cargo of the "Suez Rajan" tanker flying the Marshall Islands flag and unloaded it in Texas last month.