Iran oil exports safe from US sanctions

A top Iranian energy official says the US is not able to directly impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports due to the country’s “huge oil and gas resources.”

“Iran produces four million barrels of oil per day while the daily production of crude in the world is about 80 million barrels,” Mohsen Qamsari, the head of the international affairs of National Iranian Oil Company.

Oil production of Iran accounted for five percent of the total global oil output, he said.

“Iran exports about 2.5 million barrels of oil per day. Given that Iran’s huge oil and gas resources and the sensibility of its oil in the world, the US is not capable to impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports directly,” Qamsari said.

Oil reserves of Iran, the world’s fifth largest crude producer, reached 155 billion barrels from 151.3 billion barrels after discovering new fields in the new Iranian calendar year.

Western powers — led by the United States — have been making attempts to cripple Iran’s energy sector in a bid to dissuade it from carrying on with its peaceful nuclear program.

On June 9, 2010, the UN Security Council approved a US-engineered resolution imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, particularly targeting its energy and financial sectors over unverified allegations that the country is pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program.

Shortly after the UN sanctions, the US imposed fresh unilateral sanctions against Iran’s financial and energy sectors, and then pressured Japan, Canada, and Australia to impose similar sanctions on Tehran.

Iran says that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has a right to pursue and utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, including electricity generation and medical research.

On Tuesday, Washington imposed sanctions against seven foreign companies that deal with Iran as part of its campaign to tighten its embargo against Tehran.