Jahangiri: The U.S. Will Not Be Able to Stop Iran's Oil Sales

The First Vice President of Iran states that with the planning and 'mechanisms' outlined in the government of Hassan Rouhani, the U.S. will 'in no way' succeed in stopping Iran's oil sales and bringing them to zero. These remarks come ahead of the implementation of the second round of unilateral U.S. sanctions against Iran, which are set to take effect on November 4 and will primarily target Iran's oil industry. U.S. officials have repeatedly announced their efforts to convince countries that purchase Iranian oil to reduce their imports to zero, otherwise they will face sanctions from the U.S. On Sunday, November 6, Jahangiri responded to these efforts, stating, 'With the government's planning and mechanisms set for managing the country, I firmly declare that the Americans will not be able to stop the country's oil sales at all.' According to him, 'The Americans, who have started a countdown to November 4 since last week, will not see any new developments on that day, and everything that was supposed to happen has already occurred over the past three to four months; of course, the government has also made its own plans in response to their actions.' Jahangiri did not provide details about these mechanisms and government plans, but his comments suggest that Rouhani and his advisors are counting on an increase in oil prices with the onset of U.S. sanctions. He dismissed U.S. officials' claims about replacing Iranian oil with Saudi oil to prevent price increases as 'lies,' adding, 'The price of oil, which we used to sell for around $30, has now reached $80; if the Americans could stop Iran's oil sales, the price would definitely rise above $100.' The First Vice President noted that Iran has exported 2.5 million barrels of oil in recent months, stating, 'We believe that even if we export one million barrels of oil, we will achieve oil revenue.' While Jahangiri announced the continuation of Iran's oil sales, there have been frequent reports in recent months about countries deciding to halt their purchases of Iranian oil. For instance, Reuters reported that China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) along with the state-owned Sinopec has decided not to place oil purchase orders from Iran in November. China is Iran's largest oil customer, and according to a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration published on October 23, it imported an average of 644,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran in the first nine months of this year, but this figure dropped to 441,000 barrels in September. Nevertheless, Christopher Johnson, the energy editor at Reuters, tweeted two weeks ago that Reuters' assessment shows Iran's daily oil exports in the first half of this month (October) were about 1.33 million barrels, while others estimated a maximum of 1.5 million barrels; however, data from 'Tanker Trackers' indicates this figure was 2.2 million barrels, representing only a 10% decrease compared to last year. The Financial Times also reported in an article titled 'Ghost Tankers' that the 'Tanker Trackers' report shows Iran is sending significant amounts of oil to the market using various methods, including turning off the tracking signal systems of tankers, switching cargoes mid-route, etc., which remain hidden from many tracking companies. In his remarks, Jahangiri also referred to what he called the 'resistance' of European countries against the U.S. and the support of 'friendly' governments, including China, Russia, and India, which have prevented Iran's oil sales from reaching zero. According to this official, 'Medicines and essential goods are not given to Iran for free, and we must transfer money for them; the Americans' plan was to prevent the transfer of money for purchasing essential goods for the country. They have made significant efforts to bring Iran's oil sales to zero, and you can see that European governments are resisting them and supporting the JCPOA.' The First Vice President also noted the 'support of friendly governments' for Iran, adding that 'for this reason, the Americans exert pressure on companies and say that any company that works with Iran will be sanctioned.' Jahangiri described Iran's 'currency space' and 'cash reserves' as 'good,' stating, 'Today we have over $100 billion in foreign reserves... today there are unprecedented cash reserves in Iran's history.' Since before the announcement of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, the currency market in Iran has faced unprecedented fluctuations, and despite significant efforts, the exchange rate of the dollar and other currencies remains much higher than before that date.