Record-breaking oil exports sign of maximum pressure failure

In a tweet on late Saturday, Bahadori Jahromi pointed to the news released by Reuters on the increase of Iran's oil exports, saying, "The Western media's acknowledgement of Iran's record-breaking oil exports over the past three years is another sign of the failure of maximum pressure on the Iranian people."

"Result-oriented foreign policy, without relying on Vienna and New York, has made sanctions ineffective and neutralized," he added.

His tweet came as Reuters in a report announced that Iranian oil exports have risen to more than 1 million barrels per day for the first time in almost three years, based on estimates from companies that track the flows, reflecting increased shipments to China.

Tehran's oil exports have been limited since former US President Donald Trump in 2018 exited a 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions aimed at curbing oil exports and the associated revenue to Iran's government.

Iran has kept some exports flowing despite sanctions as intermediaries find ways to disguise the origin of the imports. Tanker tracking companies say China is the destination of most of those shipments.

President Joe Biden's administration has discussed the imports with China but has not imposed sanctions on Chinese individuals and companies. Beijing has urged the United States to lift the sanctions on Iran, which China opposes.

Reuters added that if the Vienna talks are successful in removing the sanctions, Iran could restart open oil sales.

Iran managed to increase exports in 2021 despite the sanctions, according to estimates from oil industry consultants and analysts.

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