Official: Iran’s Oil Exports to South Korea Not to Be Cut to Zero

Date: 12 October 2018 - 21:39

News ID: ۵۸۴۰۸

TEHRAN (Tasnim) –Member of Iran and South Korea Chamber of Commerce Kia Kiani described South Korea as one of the biggest importers of the Iranian crude in east Asia and said oil sales to the country will not go down to zero.

Kiani pointed to U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil sector and said among the latest series of embargoes which began in May the most serious sanctions aimed to reduce the oil exports to zero.
He added that prior to the sanctions, South Korea had been exempt from the U.S. Treasury’s sanctions and could purchase Iranian oil up to 180,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The official described South Korea as "one of the largest and most stable traditional purchasers of Iranian oil”, saying the country consumes oil between 2.9 and 3.2 million bpd.
He went on to say that currently, Iran’s trade with small Korean companies is continuing and therefore oil exports to the country will not be cut to zero.
The remarks came as Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh recently gave assurances that the U.S. administration can never drive the Islamic Republic’s crude exports down to zero.