Photo Report|| Iran’s President-elect Ebrahim Raisi on Monday said the US should return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and carry out all its commitments to the international nuclear deal.

He made the remarks during his first press conference on Monday following his victory in the election.

Answering the question “what do you have to say to the US and Europe?”, the President-elect said he frankly advised the US to return to the JCPOA and fulfill its commitment because this is the demand of the Iranian nation.

He also said that the Iranian nation conveyed a message of unity and solidarity via their participation in the June 18 presidential elections.

“We emphasize that the US government should be sincere towards its commitments while noting that the regional and missile issues are not negotiable,” Raisi added.

During the remarks, Raisi also said the massive turnout of the elections happened despite the heavy psychological warfare by the enemies who tried to discourage people.

He said people queued to cast their votes in ballot boxes for hours despite their unhappiness about certain economic conditions.

The President-elect further stressed that people voted for change in this presidential election and said their presence sent out different messages.

He said the votes conveyed a message of national unity and solidarity and also the need for a change in their economic situation and living conditions.

They also called for fighting corruption, poverty, discrimination, and, in one word, administering justice for all walks of life.

Iran’s foreign policy not to be limited to JCPOA

Noting that the large turnout of people for the presidential elections has changed the scenario, President-elect Raisi said that the policy pursued by former US administration to exert “maximum pressure” on the Iranian people has failed to work.

The Iranian president-elect said that the US officials have to reconsider their policies towards Iran.

The foreign policy of the new Iranian government will neither begin with nor be limited to negotiations over the revival of a 2015 Iran nuclear deal (known as JCPOA), Raisi said.

“We will pursue engagement with all countries of the world as a principle and a broad and balanced interaction in foreign policy,” he added.

Iran does not favor negotiation for negotiation’s sake

He said that his government will support any negotiation which will ensure the interests of the Iranian nation.

He, however, noted that he will not favor negotiations for the sake of negotiations and will not tie the economy and the living conditions of people to the negotiations.

Top domestic priorities of Raisi government

“Our priorities in this government will be to improve the business situation and improve the living conditions of the people,” the president-elect said.

He said that dealing with the issues of employment and housing will be the first steps that his government will take.

Raisi noted that liquidity in the country must be managed and go to production.

198 correspondents from Iranian media and press as well as 182 journalists who represented 113 foreign media took part in the press conference.

On Saturday, Raisi registered his victory in the June 18 presidential election by winning 17,926,345 votes out of a total of 28,933,004 ballots.

Other candidates Mohsen Rezaei Mirqaed, Abdolnaser Hemmati, and Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh won 3,412,712 and 2,427,201 and 999,718 votes, respectively, according to the interior minister.

Shortly after the early results were out, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei urged the president-elect and those elected as village and city councilors in Friday’s nationwide elections to take the chance to serve the Iranian nation.

In a message, published as the results of Friday elections were out, Ayatollah Khamenei also hailed the massive turnout of people in the elections.

Stating that efforts have to be expanded to implement the JCPOA, EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said, “I am sorry that the European parties failed to meet their commitments under the JCPOA.”

EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell met and held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday evening in Tehran.

During their meeting, Iranian President said that Iran is fully committed to its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), criticizing the other side’s failure to live up to its commitments and adding, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is still ready to interact and cooperate with the European Union to settle issues.”

He also said that developing relations and cooperation with European countries, as long-standing partners, is always important to Iran, expressing hope that relations further deepen with the efforts of the new EU foreign policy chief.

Referring to the process of efforts that eventually led to the JCPOA over 12 years, the president said, “Unfortunately, the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the agreement created many obstacles and difficulties for other parties to fully implement it.”

Rouhani stated that Iran’s move to reduce its obligations was within the framework of the agreement and to maintain it, adding, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is still fully ready to interact and cooperate with the European Union to settle issues and whenever the other side lives up to its commitments completely, Iran is ready to return to its commitments.”

Condemning US policy toward regional countries, he said, “They have already made a lot of strategic mistakes towards regional countries, including Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, and their recent move that was done in cooperation with the Zionist Regime under the title of “Deal of the Century” is in accordance with these mistakes and is doomed to fail.”

Rouhani said that today, the region is not in a good condition and terrorism has not yet been fully eradicated from the countries of the region, saying, “America assassinated General Soleimani, who was the leader of fighting terrorism in the region, and this was a tremendous help to the terrorists in the region.”

The President praised the joint efforts of Iran and the European Union to resolve many regional and international issues, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to the IAEA’s monitoring, the process of which has been continuing to date and it will continue unless we face new conditions.”

EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell, for his part, referred to Iran’s influential role in regional affairs and the development of peace, stability and security in the region, saying, “Developing cooperation with Iran has always been important for the EU.”

“I am sorry that the European parties failed to meet their commitments under the JCPOA,” he said, adding that efforts have to be expanded to implement the deal.

Stating that today European countries are seeking to preserve the JCPOA and resolve issues to keep the deal in place, Borrell said, “As the EU’s High Representative, I will do everything in my power to create a robust interaction for saving the JCPOA.”

An Iranian oil tanker has called at a European port for the first time since the lifting of sanctions last January, said managing director of the National Iranian Tankers Company (NITC) said.

Sirous Kianersi added the first NITC tanker leased to a major Spanish oil company docked at the Port of Algeciras just recently, reported IRNA on Wednesday.

More NITC tankers are heading to other European ports, he said, adding two vessels are currently en route to the Netherlands.

NITC is the biggest tanker company in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world with a capacity of 15.5 million tons per year.

Managing Director of Iran’s Port and Maritime Organization Mohammad Saeednejad also said on Wednesday that the lifting of sanctions has allowed Iranian ships to fully resume operations to Asian, European and American ports.

Since October, Iranian VLCCs have reportedly completed 32 voyages delivering around 70 million barrels. China accounted for 13 voyages and India for 12 others.

As many as 17 international shipping lines have resumed their calls at Iranian ports which were deserted by and large during the sanctions, Saeednejad said.

Iranian VLCC fleet, which had been used as floating storage, has started to reappear on international trading routes. Since October, more than 20 NITC-operated VLCCs have returned to the market compared to just 13 in October.

Iran’s oil exports hit 2.04 million barrels per day in November, recovering from a decline of around one million barrels per day during the sanctions. Over the last 12 months, European customers have resumed lifting Iranian crude oil, with France, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Taiwan taking at least one shipment.

According to ship tracking data, the number of Iranian VLCCs in storage has fallen from 16 to 7 units, which equals to a reduction of 20 million barrels. As much as 15 million barrels of crude oil is estimated to remain in floating storage on NITC’s VLCCs — down from an estimated peak of between 40 and 50 million barrels.

On Tuesday, a report said global ship insurers were about to resume near full coverage for Iranian oil exports from next month without involving US-domiciled reinsurers.

Restrictions on US firms handling Iranian goods had greatly limited the number of reinsurers of cargoes, but the new arrangements, which essentially allow re-insurance of ships without the involvement of US firms, should boost the number of eligible shipments, Reuters reported.

“There will be no US-domiciled reinsurer participation on the 2017 IG reinsurance program,” the news agency quoted Andrew Bardot, secretary and executive officer at the International Group (IG) of P&I Clubs in London, as saying.

The rate of foreign investment has been increased by 42 percent during the past 12 months thanks to the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an Iranian official said on Tuesday.

Managing Director of Central Securities Depository of Iran Mohammad-Reza Mohseni said over 264 foreign investment requests have been registered in the country during the period (stared on January 16, 2016) when Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union’s foreign policu chief Federica Mogherini announced in a joint statement the day of implementation of the landmark nuclear deal which was made by Iran and the world six major powers (the US, Britain, Russia, France and China plus Germany) in July 2015.

According to Mohseni the value of the foreign investments in Iran has also increased five folds during the post-JCPOA era.

The official noted that the implementation of the nuclear deal has paved the way for the presence of more foreign companies in Iran’s investment market.

By: Maryam Azish/ Iran’s petroleum industry is considered as the main generator for national economy following the implementation of Iran’s nuclear agreement with 5+1, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Energy plays a pivotal role to provide financial resources for Iranian public services and the industrial sector and the deal has paved the way for removal of sanctions on Iranian’s oil sector and benefited the country, the top oil producers and exporters as well as the oil consuming countries.

The absence of Islamic Republic of Iran’s from global markets during sanctions era had caused major problems because some countries were not able and ready to replace country’s oil from other states due to the lack of infrastructure.

The petroleum industry and petrochemical structure of some countries were compatible with Iran’s crude oil and any change for compatibility with other countries would have proven difficult and costly.

However, the implementation of JCPOA created a new opportunity for Iran, oil companies and consumers so that they could recommence their trading like in the past.

Thanks to the JCPOA, the foreign countries and big oil companies have had an immense opportunity for investment in Iran’s oil sector and buying oil from the Islamic Republic.

Following the implementation of the JCPOA in January, the European countries resumed oil imports from Iran or began negotiations for imports of oil from the major oil producer and a new blow has been breathed in Iran’s oil sector which would be materialized in the short-term and some others in the long-run.

The international relations of Iran which is known as the fourth largest oil and the second largest gas reserves in the world have undergone major change following the implementation of JCPOA, and its icy relations with other countries seems to be thawing in the years of sanctions.

From the early days of clinching the JCPOA, a large number of directors of international companies active in oil industry have traveled to Tehran along with their respective country’s economic delegations and voiced their willingness to resume the ties cut-off for years.

Thanks to new model of oil contracts, dubbed as the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) which aimed at attracting foreign companies and investments in Iran’s oil and gas development projects, a large number of officials of the most reputable European oil companies, Total SA of France, the world’s fourth major oil company, and Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch firm in particular, have so far held talks with Iranian side aimed at amending mutual cooperation.

Iran’s Oil Export to Europe Up

Recently, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) announced that Iran’s oil exports to Europe, which had nearly stopped during sanctions, has risen to 700,000 b/d and the country’s oil exports in October stood at 2.44 million barrels per day.

The Executive Director for International Affairs at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Mohsen Ghamsari has announced that Iran’s volume of oil exports would rise by 150 thousand barrels per day (bpd) within months, stating that the daily amount of 600 to 650 thousand barrels of crude oil are being deployed to the European countries.

Touching upon Iran’s exception to OPEC’s quota and the possibility to boost crude exports from the country, Ghamsari underscored that a daily average of 2.2 million barrels of oil is now being deployed to world markets, adding that under present circumstances, the consumption volume in domestic markets and refineries stands at about 1.8 to 1.85 million barrels per day.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran is also seeking to achieve 13 percent of the production share at OPEC and the feasibility of boosting production by 500 thousand bpd after the oil freeze deal.

Meanwhile, so far Iran has announced several times that it would spare no effort to increase crude exports to 2.35 million bpd in a few months in order to reach pre-sanction levels.

Iran’s oil sales to Asia up 92%

On Oct 2016, Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum reported a dramatic jump in its oil exports to Asia, emphasizing that its supplies to the world’s largest consumption zone are now much closer to pre-sanctions levels.

According to the Ministry’s report, Iran’s exports of crude oil to Asian clients for August stood at around 1.7 million barrels per day (mb/d). The figure showed an increase of 92 percent year-on-year, adding the Asian countries currently comprise 63 percent of Iran’s oil export destinations.

Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in mid-October that Iran’s oil production had already reached close to pre-sanctions levels. Zanganeh emphasized that the country is currently producing about four million barrels of oil per day, PressTV wrote.

Earlier, Reuters quoted market data as showing that Iran’s oil sales to Asian clients for July stood at an average of 1.6 mb/d, adding that the figure showed an increase of above 60 percent compared to the same period last year.

China imported 0.56 mb/d which was the largest volume of imports among the four Asian clients of Iran’s oil, Reuters said. India was the second biggest importer of Iranian oil at 0.52 mb/d followed by South Korea and Japan each respectively with import volumes of 0.29 mb/d and 0.25 mb/d.

In mid-January, a series of economic sanctions that had been imposed on Iran for multiple years were removed after a deal between the country and the 5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – was implemented.

The sanctions barred foreign investments in the Iranian oil industry and also imposed a low ceiling of 1 million bpd on the country’s oil exports among a series of other economic restrictions.

The aforementioned points illustrate that the historical nuclear deal has not only benefited the Islamic Republic of Iran but also has provided advantages for many oil companies and consumers.

The deal has paved the way for major oil companies to make investment in Iran’s development and exploration projects.

Additionally, fostering production capacity and enhancing the rate of recovery from oil and gas fields and reinforcing Iran’s share of oil and gas markets will benefit consumers and guarantee their energy supply security.

eputy minister of industry, mine and trade announced that 60 deals have been signed between Iran and the foreign countries after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in July, 2015.
Half of those 60 deals on the fields of industry, mine and trade have been finalized, Ali Yazdani told IRNA Tuesday after a local meeting here in this northeastern Iranian province.

Iran and the six world powers: US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany, reached a landmark nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA on July 15, 2015.

‘Implementation Day’ of the deal was announced in January, 2016, as the anti-Iran sanctions were lifted after Iran’s peaceful nuclear program was verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

President Hassan Rouhani and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis on Monday held talks in the capital city of Tehran to confer on the issues of mutual interests.

The President said that the United States, by withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and violating UN Resolution 2231 with the aim of overthrowing the Islamic Republic, has imposed cruel and unjust sanctions against the Iranian people for the past two and a half years, adding, “History has shown that the Iranian people will not give in to the bullying and coercion of a power”.

Speaking on Monday in a meeting with the Swiss Foreign Minister, Hassan Rouhani said that the relations between countries should be based on international regulations and UN Security Council resolutions, adding, “The United States has been seeking to eliminate the Islamic Republic and interfere in Iran’s internal affairsfor many years, and Mr Trump has made a miscalculation by thinking that he could overthrow the Islamic Republic within three months by putting pressure on Iran and waging an economic war”.

Emphasising that we have been -and will be- committed to international rules and multilateral agreements, Rouhani said, “Any day that the United States decides to admit to its mistakes, make up for its illegal actions and return to Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, the path is clear for them”.

The President emphasised, “Today, it is clear to the Americans that they have made a mistake and will not achieve their goal through pressure and sanctions”.

The President described US sanctions and economic war against the Islamic Republic, the assassination of a high-ranking Iranian military official in another country, as well as the violation of Iranian airspace as clear examples of economic terrorism, terrorist operations and air terrorism by the country, adding, “We expect all friendly and free countries in the world not to remain silent in the face of terrorism and the illegal actions committed by the United States over the years”.

Dr Rouhani stated that we expected the European countries to take decisive and explicit action against the US economic terrorism, which has even prevented the entry of drugs into Iran during the outbreak of coronavirus, calling for a more active part on Switzerland’s financial channel and its more effective and useful role.

In another part of his speech, the President mentioned Switzerland as an important country in Europe, and referring to the good and friendly relations between the two countries over the past years, emphasised the development of Tehran-Bern relations in various fields of science, health, agriculture, environment, etc.

Dr Rouhani also referred to the outbreak of the global coronavirus in many countries around the world, and expressed hope that the two countries would share their experiences in the fight against COVID-19 and develop their cooperation in this regard.

Referring to the 100th anniversary of the establishment of political and diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis described the relations between Iran and Switzerland very good and sincere, and stressed the development and deepening of these relations in all fields.

“All countries around the world need to know that there is a strong legal system in the world so that they can live in security; therefore, it is important that everyone, especially powerful countries, fully comply with international rules and regulations,” said the Swiss foreign minister.

We are aware of the problems caused by the US sanctions on the Iranian people, said Foreign Minister Cassis, adding, “The Swiss financial channel has been designed and launched to solve these problems and we will try increase the useful role of this channel”.

The Swiss Foreign Minister said that we are still with Iran to solve the problems and we will try to play our part, adding, “During this visit, I had very good meetings with the officials of the Islamic Republic, which can be the basis for developing and strengthening relations between the two countries in different fields”.

A subsidiary company of Iran’s Barkat Ventures is manufacturing oxygen ‎concentrators and ventilators in an effort to help those who are infected ‎with the coronavirus in the country, said its CEO. ‎

Iran’s Barkat Ventures is a knowledge-based institute affiliated with the ‎headquarters for the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO). ‎Established as EIKO’s executive arm in the development of the country’s ‎knowledge-based economy, Barkat Ventures’ mission is the creation and ‎expansion of the ecosystem and infrastructure required for the ‎development of knowledge and knowledge-based activities in the country, ‎according to barkatventures.com.‎

To these ends, it has placed on its agenda making the maximum use of the ‎capabilities of domestic scientists and experts and expanding cooperation ‎with the country’s institutes and organizations involved in the fields of ‎science, technology and the knowledge-based economy. ‎

Commenting on his company’s activities in an exclusive interview with ‎Iran Daily, Peyman Bakhshandeh-Nejad added, “In cooperation with a ‎number of researchers of a new technology-based firm, we started our ‎activities at Sharif [University’s] Advanced Technologies Incubator in 2014. ‎Two years later, the company produced its first oxygen concentrator as ‎part of a project funded by Barkat Ventures.”‎

He said in the beginning, the company was highly dependent on imports ‎for manufacturing the device, purchasing almost 80 percent of the spare ‎parts from other countries, noting that, however, in 2018 EIKO supported ‎the company, enabling it to produce oxygen concentrators without having ‎to rely on imports.‎

Since late 2019, Bakhshandeh-Nejad added, domestic production of all ‎spare parts required for manufacturing the device has begun. ‎

He said, previously, the company’s production line manufactured five ‎oxygen concentrators per day, noting that following the coronavirus ‎outbreak in Iran, the number of the produced devices has increased to 30 ‎per day. ‎

In the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, EIKO placed on its agenda ‎increased investments in the domestic production of ventilators and other ‎medical equipment required for combatting the virus. This was done in ‎view of the rise in domestic demand for such products and due to the ‎unjust US sanctions on the Iran impeding imports of such ‎devices. ‎

In May 2018, President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Joint ‎‎Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), ‎signed between Iran and the P5+1 ‎in July ‎‎2015, and reimposed Washington’s unilateral sanctions on ‎Tehran. ‎The sanctions ‎have hindered, among other things, the delivery of ‎international ‎humanitarian ‎aid, medicine and medical equipment to Iran, ‎particularly, now that the ‎country is fighting against the ‎coronavirus. ‎

Bakhshandeh-Nejad added the price of his company’s oxygen concentrators ‎are far lower than their foreign counterparts, saying his firm has also made ‎significant progress in terms of providing after-sales service since it cut ‎dependence on imports. ‎

In addition to his company, he said, two other domestic firms are also ‎manufacturing the device, noting that one of them has launched a Chinese ‎assembly line for production of oxygen concentrators.‎

The company’s CEO put domestic demand for oxygen concentrators at ‎‎2,000 per month, stressing that the current level of production meets the ‎country’s demand for the device.‎

Bakhshandeh-Nejad said that since 2018, his company has begun ‎manufacturing a type of ventilator known as BiPAP – standing for bi-level ‎positive airway pressure. ‎

‎“The machine was selected in 2018 as the most unique medical equipment ‎produced in Iran.”‎

He said earlier that his company manufactured only up to three ventilators ‎per day, adding that since the coronavirus outbreak, its daily production ‎stands at 10 machines. ‎

‎“We have delivered 250 previously-produced ventilators to the Health ‎Ministry since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.” ‎

Bakhshandeh-Nejad added his company has recently finished making a ‎ventilator exclusive to coronavirus patients known as average volume-‎assured pressure support (AVAPS). ‎

He noted that mass production of the newly-built machine will begin in a ‎few days, saying the company is expected to manufacture 20 AVAPS ‎ventilators per day. ‎

‎“The Health Ministry has announced that it currently needs 1,500 AVAPS ‎ventilators.”‎

The coronavirus, which causes a respiratory illness, emerged in the central ‎‎Chinese city of Wuhan in ‎Hubei Province late last year and is currently ‎affecting a ‎large number of countries and territories across ‎the globe. It has ‎infected and killed ‎people in a large number of countries. ‎

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says friendly countries should exert pressure on the United States to lift its “cruel and one-sided” sanctions against Tehran at the current juncture that the Islamic Republic is diligently fighting the deadly new coronavirus pandemic.

In a phone call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on Monday, the Iranian president emphasized that it is more difficult for Iran in comparison with other countries to battle the coronavirus when it is under the US sanctions.

“The US administration has not only violated international regulations by imposing illegal sanctions on Iran, but is also breaching health regulations ratified by the World Health Organization in 2005 through its measures under the current circumstances,” Rouhani said.

The Iranian president once again expressed the country’s readiness to return to full compliance with its commitments under the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it clinched with major world powers in 2015 only if all sanctions against the country are removed.

“The removal of sanctions and fulfillment of its commitments by Europe are a necessity, which has become more significant at the current specific situation,” the Iranian president pointed out.

The United States reinstated its sanctions against Iran in May 2018 after leaving a United Nations-endorsed nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic and five other major powers — the UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany.

Since then, Washington has corded other countries to follow suit and mount pressure on Iran or face punishment.
Former world officials: US sanctions compromising Iran healthcare system amid pandemic

The United States has refused to lift sanctions on Iran and even tightened them several times in recent weeks, making it almost impossible for the Islamic Republic to access life-saving medications and medical equipment necessary in the fight against the deadly new coronavirus pandemic.

Iran says the unilateral US sanctions have seriously hampered its fight against the pandemic.

Anti Coronavirus operation all over IRAN/Photo+Video

Presenting the latest update on Monday, Iran’s Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour reported 2,274 new infections and 136 more deaths from the virus over the past 24 hours.

In total, 60,500 Iranians have tested positive for COVID-19 while 3,739 have died, he pointed out, adding that 24,236 patients have fully recovered so far.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president welcomed an initiative by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to declare a global ceasefire amid the coronavirus pandemic, expressing hope that it would also include the economic war on Iran.

The UN chief on Friday renewed his call for a global ceasefire, urging all parties in conflict to lay down arms and allow war-torn nations to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

“The worst is yet to come,” Guterres said, referring to countries beset with fighting like Syria, Libya, and Yemen, adding, “The COVID-19 storm is now coming to all these theaters of conflict.”

Rouhani also described as “positive but insufficient” the initial steps taken to implement INSTEX, a trade mechanism set up by Britain, France and Germany in 2019 to protect companies doing business with Iran from Washington’s sanctions. He emphasized that the mechanism should not be limited only to medical equipment and food, but must be also implemented in a way that would enable Iran to “use it to meet all our country’s requirements.”

The three European signatories to the JCPOA unveiled the long-awaited direct non-dollar payment mechanism meant to safeguard their trade ties with Tehran following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and in the face of the “toughest ever” sanctions imposed by the United States against the Islamic Republic./ Press TV

Iran’s crude oil exports hit 2,617 mbd in April 2018, a new record since implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) back in January 2016.

The record was gained amid US President Donald Trump’s threats to pull out of the deal that was struck between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries to curb parts of Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for eased sanctions on the OPEC member’s vital economic sectors.

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) exported an average of 2.877 million barrels per day of crude oil and gas condensate during the month to Asian and European markets which was an unprecedented figure since implementation of the JCPOA.

Iran’s traditional oil customers, China, India, South Korea and Japan, bought over 60% of its petroleum cargoes during the month.

China and India alone imported roughly 1.4 mbd from Iran during the month.