Zanganeh Reports India's €7 Billion Debt to Iran

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran's Minister of Oil, stated that India owes Iran €7 billion for oil imports and added that Iran is ready to receive this debt "after the sanctions are lifted." According to ISNA news agency, Mr. Zanganeh mentioned on Wednesday, April 16, during a press conference, that the Indian oil debt to Iran consists of two parts: rupees and euros, and without mentioning the rupee debt, he stated that the total euro debt of India to Iran is €7 billion. India is Iran's second-largest oil customer after China, and due to Western sanctions, 45% of Iran's oil payments are made in rupees, while the rest is deposited in euros into an account at a domestic bank in India. Iran is allowed to use these amounts only for purchasing goods from India. Regarding Iran's oil receivables from China, Mr. Zanganeh said that "the amount of China's oil debt is normal and the oil payments are made as usual." Some reports indicate that Iran's total frozen assets abroad are about $100 billion, which Tehran hopes will be released with the lifting of sanctions. Iran also hopes that with the achievement of a comprehensive nuclear agreement, the restrictions imposed on Iran's oil exports will be lifted. The United States has increased pressure on Iran's oil customers since 2012, forcing them to reduce their oil purchases from Iran every six months to qualify for exemptions from sanctions. After the interim nuclear agreement in the fall of 2013, Washington's pressure to further reduce Iran's oil exports stopped, but Tehran has still not been able to restore its oil exports to pre-sanction levels due to existing sanctions. In the press conference on Wednesday, the Iranian oil minister announced that "oil producers must make room for the increase of Iran's oil exports in international markets." He said, "The day we were sanctioned, our share was removed from the market, and when we return, they must make room for us; we will not sit idle." Before Western sanctions, Iran exported up to 2.5 million barrels of oil daily, but this figure has now dropped to about 1.1 million barrels per day. In response to a question about what proposal he has for OPEC, he said, "You cannot have a proposal for OPEC; you must pray, although most members do not want to continue the current situation." The Iranian oil minister's reference to the "current situation" indicates the insistence of the majority of OPEC members to keep the OPEC production ceiling high. OPEC members did not reach an agreement last fall on reducing their production ceiling, which was 30 million barrels per day, a matter that accelerated the decline in oil prices. According to reports, OPEC significantly increased its oil production for the second consecutive month last month, reaching over 31 million barrels per day. Mr. Zanganeh stated, "No one is satisfied with the current situation due to 'instability and low prices'; we also think that there is more supply than demand in the market, and this puts pressure on prices, but if you pay attention and there are no political factors, the price trend is upward."