Iran oil minister rejects US max pressure as ‘failed’ policy
In response to recent US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil export network, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad stated that the policy of “maximum pressure” is a “repetitive slogan from the US and a failed experiment.”
Speaking on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, Paknejad emphasized that “necessary plans to neutralize sanctions have been devised,” adding, “Sufficient diversification in the country’s crude oil sales portfolio has now been incorporated, though I will refrain from disclosing certain details here,” as reported by the news service Shana.
On the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission between Iran and Russia, held in Moscow in April, Paknejad said, “A series of expert meetings took place over several days, culminating in the signing of a final document with Russia’s energy minister. This document covers various sectors, paving the way for expanded Iran-Russia collaboration in oil and gas, transportation, finance, banking, trade, and other fields.”
Regarding the International Oil, Gas, Refining, and Petrochemical Exhibition, the minister noted, “The unprecedented reception of this exhibition demonstrates that we can meet the needs of advancing this industry by utilizing domestic expertise.”
The US Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on more than 20 companies in a network that it claimed has long sent Iranian oil to China, Reuters reported.
The sanctions came just days after negotiators from Iran and the United States concluded a fourth round of nuclear talks aimed at working out a deal that can remove US sanctions from Iran in return for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement that the new sanctions target companies, buyers, and facilitators that work with Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff and what it described as the force’s main commercial affiliate, Sepehr Energy.
OFAC said the sanctions are the 19th such action taken by the US government against Iran since February 4, when US President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum ordering a campaign of ‘maximum pressure’ on the country.
The talks between Iran and the US began in early April under Oman’s mediation. Both sides have described their indirect meetings as generally positive.
The new designations announced by OFAC included companies based in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and Seychelles, two tankers, and an Iranian individual claimed to be a financial inspector of Sepehr Energy. The Trump administration earlier in the year had imposed sanctions on China’s independent “teapot” oil refineries for processing Iranian oil. The sanctions block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them.