US Plan for Zero Oil Export by Iran Impossible: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson denounced the US push to drive the Islamic Republic’s crude exports down to zero as a nonstarter, saying experience shows that such plans could not materialize in the contemporary world.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Monday, Bahram Qassemi derided US President Donald Trump’s “wish” to stop the export of Iranian oil, saying such a plan could not be put into practice.
“The past experience shows in many cases that it is impossible (to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero) in today’s world,” he said.
Iran stays in contact with all political and economic partners as well as the customers of oil and non-oil goods and tries to use “all means and facilities to thwart the US plots and hostile attempts,” Qassemi added.
Asked about media reports that Russia is studying possible oil-for-goods deal with Iran after a meeting between Ali Akbar Velayati, an international adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the spokesman said the contents of the meeting in Moscow have not been made public.
Last week, Velayati met with Putin to convey a message from Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Qassemi said the talks in Russia involved a broad range of issues, including investment in Iran’s oil sector, adding that each side expresses its own interpretations according to its foreign policy.
After the July 12 meeting with Putin, Velayati said Russia has announced plans for investment of up to $50 billion in Iran’s oil and gas sector, adding that Russian firms could replace the western oil companies that have left the Islamic Republic.
Meanwhile, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying on Friday that a deal under which Russia would provide goods to Iran in exchange for oil was still possible.
