More Potential Buyers for Iran Oil
Iran’s deputy minister of petroleum for international affairs and commerce, Amir-Hossein Zamani-Nia, has said the number of potential buyers of Iran’s oil has increased despite US threats of sanctions.
“Regardless of US pressure, the number of potential buyers of Iran’s oil has increased due to the competitive nature of the market and growing cupidity for more profitability,” he said.
Zamani-Nia, however, said the countries that recently received sanctions waiver from the US would not buy even an extra one barrel of oil from Iran.
He did not deny the adverse impact of US sanctions on Iran’s petroleum industry and on the livelihood of Iranians, either.
US President Donald Trump pulled out of Iran’s historic nuclear deal with six world powers last May. The agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed between Iran and the world powers in July 2015 after nearly 12 years of intensive talks. International analysts described the JCPOA as one of the best agreements over recent years.
Except for Saudi Arabia and Zionist Regime, each and every other country in the world condemned Trump’s exit from JCPOA.
After the withdrawal, the US re-imposed sanctions that had been previously lifted under the JCPOA. The sanctions targeting Iran’s petroleum sector were re-enforced in August.
Iran’s crude oil exports hit a record 2.617 mb/d in April, just before Trump ordered withdrawal from the JCPOA.
Zamani-Nia said the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum had mobilized all its forces to blunt the impact of US sanctions on the country’s oil sector.
“Selling oil is currently the top priority of the Ministry of Petroleum so that Iran’s oil market share, which was regained after the JCPOA, would not be lost but be safeguarded,” he added.
He said the objective was to maximize oil sales in order to serve the country.
“Under four decades of embargo [since the 1979 Islamic Revolution], National Iranian Oil Company has managed to work out creative mechanisms for selling oil, but the US financial pressure and clout is such that China, India, South Korea and all other countries which the US granted waivers to buy oil from Iran, would not even buy an additional one barrel of oil from Iran,” he added.
Zamani-Nia drew a parallel between US unilateral sanctions on Iran and growing corruption, trafficking and money laundering in the international oil market.
The JCPOA went into effect in January 2016, but the P5+1 group had from the very beginning dragged its feet on facilitating Iran’s trade with the world. P5+1 includes the US, France, Britain, China and Russia (the five permanent members of UN Security Council) plus Germany.
Trump Sinking US Policy
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined the Russian and Chinese leaders and the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to condemn Trump’s withdrawal and express their firm support for the JCPOA.
The firm position adopted by the P4+1, the EU and the world was expected to alleviate pressure on Iran, but it did not happen in practice.
“Politicians from across the globe, except for Saudi Arabia and Zionist Regime, condemned the return of sanctions and reaffirmed Iran’s political behavior. They have also expressed concerns over President Trump’s non-diplomatic policy. However, it must be noted that international firms run by the private sector do not follow their politicians,” explained Zamani-Nia.
He said it was normal for foreign companies to work for maximum profitability.
Referring to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), designed by the EU to facilitate trade with Iran, he said: “This executive mechanism will be triggered and will be helpful, but it will not resolve the problem entirely.”
“In fact, every action the Europeans intend to do will be faced the US influence,” said Zamani-Nia.
“Europe’s frustration in tackling the US unilateral sanctions on Iran has resulted in profound awareness within Europe and raised expectations for Europe to not remain the US’s political and economic hostage,” he added.
“Such awareness will change the quality of Europe-US relations and the US politico-economic clout within Europe and everywhere else in the world will gradually decline,” he said.
The EU is continuing to endorse implementation of the JCPOA, providing Iran with support to fulfill its nuclear-related obligations. The EU is also committed to ensuring that EU-Iran trade and economic relations continue to benefit from the positive impact of lifting the sanctions. The EU has already introduced