President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that the United States has failed to advance its agenda against Iran, particularly in the oil sector, as the government has managed to restore a relative calm to the market, much to the chagrin of ill-wishers.
“The Americans had expected to see economic disarray in the country after November 4. However, our great people and all economic officials acted in such a way that the situation reversed,” the president said in remarks following a meeting of the heads of the three branches of government in Tehran over a host of issues facing the country, his official website reported.
The administration of US President Donald Trump reapplied sanctions to Iran’s oil sector on Nov. 5, after ending its participation in an international deal over the OPEC producer’s nuclear program.
Rouhani said American officials were hoping that the Iranian people would experience higher inflation, more economic problems and more volatility in the foreign currency market, but the good performance of the central bank helped frustrate their ambitions.
“Now there is a palpable sense of calm inside the country,” he said, adding that his administration will spare no efforts to improve the situation and address people’s economic grievances.
Rise in Oil Sales
The president also noted that the export of Iranian oil has improved since early November and all necessary steps to blunt the impact of US embargo on the vital sector are being taken by the Oil Ministry.
“The goal of the Americans was to halt our oil exports. I want to frankly inform the people that our oil exports have improved by degrees since Nov. 5,” he said, adding that plans are underway to repatriate oil revenues despite US restrictions.
Washington had been pushing governments to cut imports of Iranian oil to zero. But, fearing a price spike, it granted Iran’s biggest buyers—China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey—temporary sanctions waivers.
“So the Americans have been unsuccessful with regard to the oil issue. They also tried hard to prevent OPEC countries from cutting production, but they decided otherwise,” he said.
OPEC and its Russia-led allies agreed on Friday to slash oil production by more than what the market had expected despite pressure from the US president to reduce the price of crude, Reuters reported.
“The Americans were unsuccessful in the OPEC meeting, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, fortunately, had some good successes,” Rouhani said. “The process of selling our oil has continued and will continue in the same way as it did before this meeting.”
Regional Policies
Rouhani noted that US policies in the region have also failed, especially in war-torn Yemen and Syria.
“Today, those who wanted to bring Yemen under their domination feel that they have no option but to make peace with the people of Yemen,” he said, adding that Tehran supports the intra-Yemeni dialogue.
Yemen’s warring parties held the first direct talks in UN-led peace efforts in Sweden on Sunday to iron out a prisoner swap, one of several confidence-building measures intended to help launch a political process to end nearly four years of conflict, Reuters reported.
The president said the situation has also improved in Syria, which shows Iran’s regional policies have been effective.
