TEHRAN - Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has reported that the country’s oil exports reached a 10-year record in the calendar year to late March, despite draconian U.S. sanctions.
The report showed that Iran had exported some $67 billion worth of crude oil in the calendar year to March 20.
Iran’s oil exports showed an increase of 19.64% from the year to March 2024 and were nearly triple the figures reported in 2021, when shipments fell significantly because of sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump during his first term in office.
CBI figures showed that Iran had exported $55 billion worth of oil in the year to March 2023 and some $38 billion in the calendar year before that.
The figures are another sign that Trump’s so-called maximum pressure campaign, which he restored a month after returning to the White House in February, has failed to meet its objective of driving Iran’s oil exports to zero.
Trump said earlier this week during a Middle East tour that he would double down on pressure on Iranian oil exports if the country does not reach a nuclear agreement with the U.S.
Iranian and U.S. representatives have held four rounds of indirect talks since early April in search of a deal that can lift sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
However, Iranian authorities have dismissed Trump’s threats about more oil sanctions, saying the country will be able to continue to export oil regardless of the outcome of the ongoing nuclear talks.