Intelligence Minister Says Iran's Oil Exports Have Increased

Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib says despite pressure by the United States and its allies Tehran currently has fewer problems in selling oil.

Iran’s oil exports have increased in the past one year compared with 2019-2020, according to business intelligence groups, but are still well below 2 million bpd exported before US sanctions were imposed in 2018.

Khatib also said that Iran’s access to its foreign currency reserves have also increased.

Iran does not officially announce the foreign currency reserves as a matter of policy and all figures are estimates calculated by international or foreign institutes. However, Iran’s currency has fallen by more than 20 percent since August, which is not an indication of access to foreign currencies.

In its regional report for the Middle East and Central Asia, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Iran’s accessible international reserves was $4 billion in 2020, that is a tiny fraction of the $122.5 billion of reserves the country held in 2018.

In its latest Regional Economic Outlook, the IMF said Iran’s “oil activity will remain subdued in the short term, reflecting the OPEC+ production curbs and continued US sanctions.”

Islamic Republic has dipped into its foreign reserves to make up for the loss of oil revenues.